headline: Telecoms tax: Nigeria new tax on phone calls explainer
text: Nigerians go soon begin pay "telecoms tax", dis na tax on top phone calls wey pipo dey make. Di telecommunications tax dey inside di National Health Insurance bill 2021 wey don become law. President Muhammadu Buhari just sign am into Law last week. Nigerian Communications Commission tell BBC Pidgin say dem still dey torchlight di Law. So how e go affect you? Na di full explanation dey inside dis tori. Di tax na part of goment way to raise money to fund di health insurance scheme of di kontri. Di money wey go come out from di deductions dey go di Vulnerable Group Fund, as part of health care reforms. Vulnerable Group Fund be money wey Buhari goment set up for Nigerians wey dey weak and helpless alias poor. Na under Section 26 subsection 1 (C) of di act di provision dey - e say goment go take one kobo per second of evri telephone call. Dis mean say, for example, if your telephone service provider dey charge 11kobo per second, evri one kobo na charge for health care levy. "Di source of money for di Vulnerable group fund include basic health care provision to di authority, health insurance levy... "...telecommunications tax, not less dan one kobo per second of GSM calls." di act tok for wetin BBC Pidgin don see. E neva clear if di Law don already take effect as president Buhari don sign am. Nigerians also neva begin tok weda dem don dey see di effect of di deductions for dia telephone calls. Ikechukwu Adile, NCC Head of Corporate Affairs say di agency still dey study di di new act wey dey dia table. "We still dey look di Law and we go make statement to Nigerians wen we dey ready," e tok. Tax on telephone calls go affect mostly poor Nigerians wey dey struggle already, na so one sabi pesin tok. Hamzat Lawal, founder of Follow the money, say citizens no dey feel di impact of di oda taxes wey dem dey pay since. E say: "No tax dey healthy or unhealthy because e dey help citizens support goment to build public-use infrastructure." "As well as transform different sectors like health and education." Lawal also say Nigerians no dey benefit from di tax dem dey pay already. "Reports say teleco operators dey complain about di policy wey mandate citizens to pay extra 5% on phone calls go make tins harder on citizens. "Wit di current devaluation of di naira and inflation, pesin fit argue say na bad timing to further burden di population" "Especially wen little or no tangible results dey for all taxes citizens dey pay." Hamzat Lawal say as long as paying tax no contribute to community needs, every citizen, including less privileged go dey seriously affected.