Pay television company, Multichoice Nigeria, has pushed back at criticism trailing the increase in subscription rates for DSTv and GOTv packages from June 1st.
The company explained that the price adjustments it recently announced, which take effect from 1 June, is to reflect the increase in the rate of the Value Added Tax (VAT) by 2.5 % from 5% to 7.5% by the Federal Government.
The 2.5 % increase followed the signing of the Finance Act 2019 on 13 January by President Muhammadu Buhari. The new VAT rate, which took effect from 1 February, is one of the measures adopted by the Federal Government to increase revenue from non-oil sources.
In a statement issued in Lagos, MultiChoice said it did not start implementing the new VAT rate on 1 February in order to provide relief for its customers, meaning that it absorbed the 2.5% hike by making its products and services available at the old rate of 5%.
