Uber, Bolt in Trouble as House of Reps moves to Probe Ride-hail Businesses in Nigeria Over Tax Compliance

• Ride-hail companies like Uber, Bolt and others may soon face the House of Representatives to determine if they are paying taxes
• The Reps are on the way to probe them over tax compliance and is making moves to set up a committee to look into that
• The Reps said despite the fact that technology-aided businesses are helping to reduce unemployment in Nigeria, there is need for them to pay taxes

Transport businesses that rely on technology for operations in Nigeria may have to face Nigeria's National Assembly as the House of Representatives is making frantic moves to probe them to determine if they are tax-compliant.

House of Representatives is on the verge of setting up mechanism to investigate the ride-hailing firms in Nigeria and other tech-aided transportation companies which make money but may not be paying taxes.

Read also

Audio money? FG says it has disbursed N100bn to unemployed youths, small businesses

Ganiyu Abiodun from Lagos said this on Thursday, December 16, 2021 during plenary, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Abiodun stated that the technology is a strategic tool for achieving success and competitiveness in various organisations.

Abiodu said:

“In recent times, ICT has had significant impacts on the way organisations operate, as it offers tremendous opportunities such as storing, processing, retrieving, disseminating and sharing of information.

Abiodun said that technology has created many job opportunities for unemployed persons as the people’s desire for comfortable ride services have enabled companies such as Bolt and Uber to spread widely across the country.

According to him, many transportation activities now occur through virtual booking and payments which make ordering of their services easier and more efficient, Nairametrics report said.

Massive earnings by Uber, Bolt drivers

Read also

Customs Recruitment Exercise: Only 4 candidates per LG would be employed, Reps insist

He added that income per week of Bolt and Uber drivers range between N60,000 to N120,000, while the organisations take off 20 per cent and 25 per cent respectively as commission from the earnings of each driver operating on their platforms.

Abiodun stated:

“Cognisant that the companies have benefited from facilities of the Federal Government such as road and security network which grants them ease of doing business, thus they ought to be fully accountable and up to date in tax remittances."

He said one of the reasons for the findings is to determine if the ride-hailing companies were compliant with the Companies and Allied Matters Act, since their services were online.

Ahmed Wase, House Deputy Speaker, told the lawmakers that the committee, when formed, will report back within to the House within four weeks for further legislative action.

Uber brings competition to package delivery business in Nigeria

Legit.ng has reported that Ride-hail company, Uber launched Uber Connect, a package delivery business, in July of 2020. The company said it hopes to leverage its success in the ride-hail business to deliver top-notch delivery services globally. In a blog post announcing the launch of Uber Connect, the company said it will offer same-day, on-demand delivery services.

Read also

While camps will be closed, IDPs return to communities is voluntary, Borno SEMA says

The company said there is no need for customers to wait for hours before getting their packages delivered, a feat considered record-breaking should it succeed in an industry already considered inert and tardy.

Uber is a known performer of some sort. Take UberEats for example. It delivers acclaimed oven-fresh meals to customers in parts of the world.

Source: Legit.ng