Global Tax and Advisory firm, KPMG Nigeria has seemingly walked back on its caustic criticism of the cybercrime levy imposed on Nigerians by the federal government.
In a tweet on its official social X handle, the firm noted that its Newsletter on the subject was not meant to criticise the federal government but to highlight key considerations and further ask members of the public to reach out for clarifications.
The decision to walk back on the comments may be an attempt to avoid angering government officials especially the powerful Office of the National Security Adviser.
KPMG also relies heavily on the government for several consulting businesses.
Nairametrics had earlier reported KPMG’s commentary on the order from the CBN to banks and PSPs to start collecting 0.5% of the value of any transaction to a cybersecurity fund to be managed by the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) where it stated that no country can tax its way to prosperity given the revenue generation drive of the federal government.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had earlier directed banks and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to implement a 0.5% cybersecurity levy on the total cost of online transactions. This levy is to be managed by the Office of the National Security Advisor (NSA).