Revered actor , Ramsey Nouah has revealed that Nollywood is heavily taxed, adding that the industry is not yet self sustaining.
Nouah made this known as a panellist at a tax gathering for start-ups and SMEs in Abuja, the actor noted that the Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS) should come up with a viable taxation structure to keep the industry from collapse.
According to him: “Taxation is inevitable. I support it, but right now Nollywood is heavily taxed. The equipment we use, whether old or new are heavily taxed.
“The industry is not yet self-sustaining. Yet we are slammed with taxes. The practitioners are taxed, the distributors are taxed.
“The Bank of Industry (BOI) pumped some money to expand the horizons of cinemas in Nigeria, quite commendable but it’s still too small.”
MI Abaga, rapper and president of Chocolate City, also stated that the Nigerian music scene is not yet literate enough to withstand the pressure of full taxation.
“I have been paying my tax in Lagos for five years, taxation is necessary. But we can’t kill the citizens to save government just as we can’t kill government to save citizens,” he said.
“At present the music scene is still evolving, it’s not yet financially literate to deal with issues like full taxation.
“We have a generation of youth that feel short-changed by corruption in public life; music has become an avenue for them to feel a sense of fulfillment. We have to find a middle-line that will benefit us all.
“At Chocolate city, we are in the business for the love of the people, not just for making money.”