TECHDIGEST – The National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS) has announced it will be suing the Nigerian government over plans to introduce a 5% telecom tax.

NATCOM’s president, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, said the association will challenge the legitimacy of the proposed 5% excise duty on telecoms services in court.

Ogunbanjo described the proposed excise duty on calls, SMS, data, and other telecom services as insensitive decision to further impoverish consumers whose purchasing power had already been weakened.

READ ALSO: Finance Minister insists on 5% Telecom Tax

“The Minister of Finance is insisting on implementing the excise tax, this shows insensitivity particularly when the substantive minister of the affected sector is pushing back,” said Ogunbanjo even as he warned that the new tax could erode gains made in the sector.

The federal government had announced recently through the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning that it would begin the implementation of the telecom tax from first quarter of 2023.

But the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, while speaking at the maiden edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo also recently in Lagos said his ministry was not consulted.

The minister warned that the telecoms tax could become counterproductive and advised that luxury items not essential services like telecom should attract higher taxes instead.

“Firstly, I have not been consulted officially and part of the rulemaking is to invite stakeholders to make contributions, I was not consulted officially. Secondly, if we have been contacted, we would have challenged the submission,” said minister.

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TECHDIGEST – Truecaller, for many phone users, is an app that helps to identify unknown callers. That, of course, was the original purpose of the app. But today it is being used for real-time spam reporting, thus allowing accurate and quick protection from scams, telemarketers, fraud, and more.

The communications platform, Truecaller is forging ahead with the announcement of new features for Android users that are expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks.

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A Voice Call Launcher for VoIP calls, a Passcode Lock for SMS inboxes, improved Call Logs, simplified and fast Call Reason, face filters for Video Caller ID, and an AI Smart Assistant are among the new features. All of these features will allow users to communicate in a safe, hassle-free, and efficient manner.

Here are the 5 new features coming on Truecaller:

Face Filters for Video Caller ID: Built-in templates have been introduced to Truecaller in order to provide a more personalised and unique calling experience. This feature allows users to take selfies and employ VR-powered filters, allowing them to be more creative.

Enhanced Calls Logs: Truecaller’s call logs have been modified to allow and support up to 6400 entries, up from 1000 in the older version. Users will be able to search call logs for call records as an outcome of this.

Improved Call Reason: The caller can add an Instant Call Reason in Truecaller. For the messaging, there are also various defaults. “It’s urgent,” “Can we Talk?” will be some of the alternatives. In addition, the user can write any custom call reason.

Passcode Lock for SMS: Truecaller is adding a text message lock to enhance privacy. Users will be able to add an extra level of security by using a passcode lock. You’ll be able to use biometric or fingerprint authentication if your device supports it.

Voice Call Launcher: Truecaller’s Voice Call Launcher makes it simple to identify all of your contacts who are willing to speak on Truecaller Voice. The new function is only available for VoIP calls.

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