Google joins the list of other social media companies to regulate its VAT policy in Nigeria to a 7.5% per the Nigerian legislation. Google reportedly amends its tax policy exclusively for its Nigerian user base — the tech behemoth tends to charge 7.5% of any taxable goods and services developed by either Google or Alphabet Inc.
Value Added Tax is duties obliged to the final users of goods or services being charged for each production phase of the finished product.
The new Value Added Tax policy Google drafted for Nigerian is scheduled to commence on April 1st. The Nigerian digital market is aware of Google’s VAT notice per the viral message the search engine disbursed to Nigerians via mails.
“Due to new legislation in Nigeria, starting April 1, 2022, Google will be required to charge 7.5% VAT on all taxable goods and services. No action is required on your side concerning your Google business account.” Google said the new VAT policy will commence from the first of April in sync with the Nigerian constitution.
The search engine revealed that value-added tax bills will be tagged with the same purchased goods or services. This VAT bill will also be separated from users’ actual transactions on the Google platform. In other words, the payment will be visible on another section of the users’ account.
“The amount of VAT charged on your purchases will appear as a separate line in your account. Your invoice or statement will show the amount of VAT charged,” Google continued to reveal the VAT policy is exclusive for its users on its business platforms that are likely to yield invoices or purchase receipts.
The Nigerian regulations have been keen on scolding the void in social media and the digital market. Recall the Nigerian legislation enacted the 7.5% VAT prior to 2022. The Meta and the subsidiaries existing in its Metaverse have reportedly obliged to the Nigerian 7.5% VAT charge — the likes of Facebook, Instagram imposed the new VAT on 2022’s new year’s day.
Nigeria joins the list of countries to regulate the digital market with VAT obliged to final consumers. The likes of the UK, Indonesia, Egypt, etc, have reportedly imposed VAT on online products — this bill is reserved for final users of the product. For context, the Egyptian government charges the most VAT — a 14% additional tax per the value of the products, while other countries charge 10% of the actual price of the digital product.
