Reps to probe Bolt, Uber operators’ tax compliance

The House of Representatives on Thursday resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the level of compliance of transportation service providers with the country’s extant tax laws.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion presented by a member of the House, Ganiyu Abiodun (APC-Lagos state) at plenty.

Abiodun, who led the debate on the motion, said Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was often regarded as a strategic tool for success and competitiveness in organizations across the world.

He 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.”

The lawmaker stressed that ICT has made transportation business very accessible, cheaper and lucrative especially in the urban areas.

He added: “ICT has created many job opportunities for unemployed persons as the people’s desire for comfortable ride services had enabled companies such as Bolt and Uber spread widely across the country.

“Many transportation activities now occur through online booking and payments which make the ordering of the services easier and efficient.

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“We were informed that the average weekly earnings of Bolt and Uber drivers are about N60,000 to N120,000 while the companies take off 20 per cent and 25 percent respectively as commission from the earnings of each driver operating on their platforms.

“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 it was not clear whether the companies were fully compliant with the requirements of the Companies and Allied Matters Act because the services were online.

In his ruling, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Ahmed Wase, said the committee when constituted would report back to the lawmakers within four weeks for further legislative action.

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