Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / New
Stats: 3,154,052 members, 7,821,627 topics. Date: Wednesday, 08 May 2024 at 04:00 PM

Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? - Webmasters (2) - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum / Science/Technology / Webmasters / Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? (15330 Views)

How Do You Receive Funds From Google/youtube ? / Ghanaian Teen Develops A Search Engine That Can Rival Google's Youtube / Why Facebook Live Video Streaming Service Is Dark On Africa (2) (3) (4)

(1) (2) (3) (Reply) (Go Down)

Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by Lexusgs430: 6:39am On Mar 05, 2016
How much business do they do in Nigeria (with paper evidence)?
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by tonyx4x44(m): 6:49am On Mar 05, 2016
seguno2:
They are waiting for our governments- federal, states and LGAs - to ask them to pay.
Have you seen anyone who pays when no one has asked him to pay
Did Linda Ikeji not pay only N6,000 taxes in four years despite buying a N500 million mansion?
Can that happen in UK, Germany, USA, France etc?
I don't think so.
In short, we Nigerians are very unserious people who like to complain but are not ready to contribute and work towards meaningful solutions (such as effective tax system for everyone). Instead we are waiting for another person to solve all our problems.
How will we not remain slaves to such a person/people who always solve our own problems?

Nigerian are never bothered by real issues

suffering and smiling - fela

1 Like

Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by OkoyeA1(m): 6:52am On Mar 05, 2016
sauceny:
As far as am concerned,we don't need it & am not bothered,cos even if they pay $1billion tax annually to Nigerian government,it wouldn't impact anything on any Nigerian,rather it would end up in the pocket of few individuals to make em wealthier....So op,bother not

[size=20pt]Let the portion of Nigeria be given to those that can make good use of it,to the likes of UNICEF,WHO or UN[/size]
1 million Cartons of orijin no go do u, u are highly favored
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by DollyB(m): 7:11am On Mar 05, 2016
Google does pay tax for having a company and operating its company in Nigeria but its tax would be limited to the amount the Nigerian office is generating and not the Google office worldwide.
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by Kaykaymil(m): 7:21am On Mar 05, 2016
They have company in Nigeria but the rule is you only pay tax where your company is head quartered, so if they have a headquarter in London they are bound by English laws. That is why to avoid tax most big corporate organization choose their headquaters in countris with low tax rate.
Similarly If u register a company here in Nigeria and same company in Uk and choose Nigeria as your quarter base of operations you are not bound to pay tax in UK.
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by ttmacoy: 7:32am On Mar 05, 2016
That's not true. They will pay tax in every company they operate based on revenue they earn there. What you are talking about is the consolidated earnings which is based on where they are head quarters eg Google is obviously hq'd in California but are expected to pay tax on their UK earnings.

As per the op we do not know that Google does not pay tax in Nigeria, I expect rhey do but it wouldn't be that significant when you look at it against their global earnings and tax payments.

Kaykaymil:
They have company in Nigeria but the rule is you only pay tax where your company is head quartered, so if they have a headquarter in London they are bound by English laws. That is why to avoid tax most big corporate organization choose their headquaters in countris with low tax rate.
Similarly If u register a company here in Nigeria and same company in Uk and choose Nigeria as your quarter base of operations you are not bound to pay tax in UK.

1 Like 3 Shares

Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by Baroba(m): 7:33am On Mar 05, 2016
If you do not have a structured well defined system of taxation, dont complain .. The only people the naija govt can tax properly are government workers..

1 Like 1 Share

Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by miky2002(m): 7:48am On Mar 05, 2016
[i][/i] Nigeria is free country where almost everything is not charge for price
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by bigx(m): 7:58am On Mar 05, 2016
Because they are Oyibo
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by 2blessed01(m): 8:05am On Mar 05, 2016
bettercreature:
I was reading on CNN few minutes ago that uk government will increased facebook and google taxes and germany will soon do the same,i'm just wondering why these companies are not paying taxes in Nigeria whereas they pay heavy taxes in other countries
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by Buky2000: 8:08am On Mar 05, 2016
Well, with regards to Nigerian tax act lfn 2004 cap c20,
All income generated in Nigeria either Nigerian or non-nigerian companies are subject to tax. So they must pay tax.
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by slavemerchant: 8:10am On Mar 05, 2016
JESUSBOIY:
Cos BOOOhari is incompetent ....undecided




Cheers smiley

Wish I can buy you a brain
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by Nobody: 8:13am On Mar 05, 2016
spikesC:
They do not have companies in Nigeria but do in those countries.

There's something like GOOGLE NIGERIA dear.
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by Nobody: 8:15am On Mar 05, 2016
netizenbuzz:


There's something like GOOGLE NIGERIA dear.

Yes... and Google Nigeria does pay taxes
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by 2blessed01(m): 8:17am On Mar 05, 2016
;DYea,concured!
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by amiskurie(m): 8:19am On Mar 05, 2016
spikesC:
They do not have companies in Nigeria but do in those countries.
You funny,they do have offices in Nigeria.


....Google and Microsoft does,I am not sure of odas tho
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by slavemerchant: 8:19am On Mar 05, 2016
Kaykaymil:
They have company in Nigeria but the rule is you only pay tax where your company is head quartered, so if they have a headquarter in London they are bound by English laws. That is why to avoid tax most big corporate organization choose their headquaters in countris with low tax rate.
Similarly If u register a company here in Nigeria and same company in Uk and choose Nigeria as your quarter base of operations you are not bound to pay tax in UK.

Please stop feeding people with wrong information,there are a lot of companies here in nigeria with their headquarters abroad and yet they are taxed here in the country, once a foreign company has a physical presence in a country then it is subject to tax by the laws of the land of its host
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by akinszz: 8:19am On Mar 05, 2016
Hope u no go die of buharism.
JESUSBOIY:
Cos BOOOhari is incompetent ....undecided




Cheers smiley
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by dipsin999(m): 8:21am On Mar 05, 2016
naptu2:


Google Nigeria,
3rd Floor, Mulliner Towers,
39 Kingsway Road, Ikoyi,
Lagos, Nigeria


You cant hide from Tax in Lagos as a company except no advert.

Google go dey pay better.... Lasgidi Govt
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by ogele: 8:27am On Mar 05, 2016
mccoy47:
Maybe its cuz they do not have offices here in Nigeria.
I stand to be corrected but has anyone seen a building in Nigeria that houses Facebook office?
Their is Mama Put eatry that is Called FACEBOOK RESTAURANT... I guess is own by Mark Zuckarberg CEO of FACEBOOK... The Restaurant is in AGEGE and Okokomiko Lagos

1 Like

Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by spoilerx: 8:38am On Mar 05, 2016
spikesC:
They do not have companies in Nigeria but do in those countries.

Google has
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by Brown47: 8:44am On Mar 05, 2016
bettercreature:
I was reading on CNN few minutes ago that uk government will increased facebook and google taxes and germany will soon do the same,i'm just wondering why these companies are not paying taxes in Nigeria whereas they pay heavy taxes in other countries

because Nigeria is a come and chop contry na
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by HomeOfMe(f): 8:55am On Mar 05, 2016
spikesC:
They do not have companies in Nigeria but do in those countries.
Absolutely! They do not have physical office,let me put it that way.
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by aribisala0(m): 8:55am On Mar 05, 2016
They do not pay because the government do not know what to do .They avoided tax in UK for many years and have only started paying. Government needs to get expert to determine how to extract tax.
I suspect the other reason is hey do not make much advertising revenue from Nigeria but I could be wrong. Government should be able to measure how much advertising revenue they make in Nigeria and then tax it. If they are not making a lot of money here then Nigeria needs them more than they need Nigeria> Nigeria needs to encourage Nigerian versions of those businesses
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by Williamso(m): 9:00am On Mar 05, 2016
Google pays taxes here because they have a branch. Facebook/YouTube don't because they do not! Will you say nairaland should pay taxes in the US/UK because people access this site from those locations?
This thread is silly undecided

2 Likes

Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by aribisala0(m): 9:00am On Mar 05, 2016
Kaykaymil:
They have company in Nigeria but the rule is you only pay tax where your company is head quartered, so if they have a headquarter in London they are bound by English laws. That is why to avoid tax most big corporate organization choose their headquaters in countris with low tax rate.
Similarly If u register a company here in Nigeria and same company in Uk and choose Nigeria as your quarter base of operations you are not bound to pay tax in UK.
Not true and that is the basis for the ignorant agitation for moving headquarters of companies away from Lagos. In Nigeria companies pay company tax to the FG regardless of where they have their headquarters but people ofte mislead others about this and ow this idea has been taken international. It is wrong.
Companies that operate in Nigeria will normally pay based on declared earnings. I do not believe these companies earn much IN NIGERIA
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by mumu9gerian: 9:07am On Mar 05, 2016
alexistaiwo:
end time tax end time government end time internet infact end time everything hit like for endtime post
ode
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by magicfingers009: 9:09am On Mar 05, 2016
spikesC:
They do not have companies in Nigeria but do in those countries.
There's Google Nigeria. There office is at Ikoyi. They share the same building with etisalat
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by Jwhizzy(m): 9:11am On Mar 05, 2016
Interesting question OP.

For a foreign company to pay tax in Nigeria, it must be earning either active income or passive income in Nigeria, and even then, it may not be liable to Nigerian tax.

Passive income includes dividends, interests, royalties, etc. These kind you can earn even if you don't come into Nigeria for a day. On these types of income, the company pays what is called withholding tax at 10% (or 7.5% if the company is in a country with which Nigeria has what is called a double tax treaty). The withholding tax on passive income is the final tax the company is liable to on these incomes.

For active income which is income from business/trading, the company must have what is referred to in Nigerian tax law as a fixed base or in the double tax treaties as a permanent establishment. A fixed base is defined as a fixed place of business. If it doesn't have a fixed base, it must have a dependent agent authorised to conclude contracts on its behalf. There are other conditions but no need to overcomplicate. You can read further from Section 13(2) of the Companies Income Tax Act LFN.

Now, Google, Facebook and YouTube do not have a fixed base in Nigeria as they don't meet the condition in paragraph above. Although they may have local offices in Nigeria, those offices are mostly what we call representative offices set up strictly for marketing and advertising purposes. These kind of offices do not usually create a fixed base for the parent company. Besides, what ever revenue that local office earns from the parent company is subject to tax in Nigeria.

Note: Everytime you do business with Google in Nigeria, you enter into a contract with a Google entity in a country with a favourable tax regime, and not the local Google office in Ikoyi. That entity with which you contract, does not have a fixed base and is therefore not liable to Nigerian tax.

Hope this helps.

2 Likes

Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by ewizard1: 9:31am On Mar 05, 2016
They would if they are situated in Nigeria!
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by ewizard1: 9:32am On Mar 05, 2016
Williamso:
Google pays taxes here because they have a branch. Facebook/YouTube don't because they do not! Will you say nairaland should pay taxes in the US/UK because people access this site from those locations?
This thread is silly undecided
WelSed!
Re: Why Facebook,google,youtube Are Not Paying Taxes In Nigeria? by Nobody: 10:21am On Mar 05, 2016
Acidosis:
Is Linda Ikeji paying taxes to the UK government? Germany? US? And every other nation of the world?

Lol

Should SEUN pay taxes to the UK government since many Nigerian in the UK surf Nairaland ? Even when SEUN GOT NO office in the UK?
YouTube has offices in Lagos and Abuja
Google has an office in Lagos.

2 Likes

(1) (2) (3) (Reply)

The Monthly Income Of Web Designers / Developers In Nigeria / Which Is Better To Start In 2022: Blogging Or Youtube / Gsm Number Generator Code

(Go Up)

Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health
religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket

Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 48
Disclaimer: Every Nairaland member is solely responsible for anything that he/she posts or uploads on Nairaland.