Zainab Ahmed, minister of
finance, says there would be an increase in value-added tax on specific items
in 2019.
Speaking on Wednesday at the
inauguration of the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative, Ahmed said the federal
executive council will take a request to the national assembly for an amendment
of the VAT law.
“We are studying a possibility of
a VAT increase but you also know that the increase of VAT requires an amendment
of the law,” she said.
“It is most likely the VAT
increase will be selective. It will be on special items so it won’t be across
the board. I am sure you are already aware that there are a number of items
that are exempted from VAT such as food and drugs.
“There would be a VAT increase
during the course of 2019, we will announce later the items and what the rate
will be. We will have to take a request to the National Assembly for amendment
of the VAT law before it takes effect.”
Representatives of the Federal
Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Accountant-General of the Federation and Nigeria
Sovereign Investment Authority were present at the launch.
Also present, were
representatives of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).
Babatunde Fowler, FIRS chairman,
said the service plans to collaborate with banks to get names of companies and
individuals with funds in excess of N1 billion and ensure that appropriate tax
was collected.
According to him, the service
will also link up with the Nigeria Customs to get data on companies that import
goods into the country to ensure that they pay their fair share of tax.
In addition, he said that
henceforth, the FIRS would ensure that it collects tax on properties owned by
corporate entities in the country.
On his part, Hammed Ali,
comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service, said that the Service would
focus on reducing smuggling and illicit financial flow of goods.
According to him, the Service
will like to introduce new excise duties, but at the moment, the country only
collects excise duty on alcohol and cigarettes.
He said the Service would also
like to look carbonated drinks since they also have health implications for
consumers.
Ahmed Idris, the
accountant-general of the federation (AGF), said his office would like to
introduce the use of treasury single account to all existing Nigerian embassies
to enhance revenue.
As a way of blocking leakages,
the AGF said his office would also link revenue generating agencies to the
government integrated financial management information system (GIFMIS).
He said that GIFMIS
implementation would enable the federal government process financial
transactions faster and also reduce opportunities for corruption.
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