In furtherance of its resolve to eradicate illegal tax points in the state the Benue Internal Revenue Service(BIRS), in collaboration with the Nigeria Police vacated the illegal tax point at Mu head bridge in Makurdi. The operation which saw the destruction of the checking point which served as the operation point for the hoodlums, was carried out this afternoon.

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MIXED reactions on Thursday trailed the 7.2 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) proposed by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) lauded the increase, saying it was long overdue. According to the institute, the proposal will help government to realise its developmental objectives.

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In 2017, ASBIR conducted a tax audit on Polaris Bank. Subsequently, the Board issued the Bank with a demand notice accompanied by a tax assessment for payment of outstanding taxes and levies comprising of Withholding Tax (WHT), Pay as You Earn (PAYE), Development Levy, Business Premises Levy as well as interest and penalties for under remittance of its tax liabilities for 2006 – 2011 tax years. The Bank objected to the assessment and subsequently appealed to the TAT.

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Manchester United fans deserve better than the club’s poor form, says striker Marcus Rashford. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side lost 1-0 away to Newcastle United on Sunday, leaving them 12th in the Premier League. The Red Devils are only two points clear of the relegation zone, with David de Gea telling Sky Sports United are enduring their “most difficult time” since his arrival in 2011. Spain goalkeeper De Gea blasted United’s performances as “unacceptable”, while Solskjaer took responsibility for a run of form that has seen his side take 17 points in 16 league matches since his permanent appointment in March. Rashford himself has struggled for form, with the striker having only scored once since hitting a brace in the 4-0 opening weekend defeat of Chelsea. “You can’t hide in football and the last few weeks simply haven’t been good enough,” Rashford posted on Twitter. “As a United fan myself, that hurts. And you deserve better. “We know we need to improve and that is our sole focus as a team and as a club.” United have been dealing with an injury crisis and midfielder Paul Pogba was among those who missed the trip to Newcastle. “They say hard work pays off what about hard work in the heat?” Pogba wrote on Instagram with a video of him working out in Dubai. “Let’s see – loving the view though.” United’s first game after the international break is at home to rivals Liverpool, who have won 17 Premier League games in a row and are eight points clear at the top of the table.

Source: Guardian

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Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, has solicited the support and cooperation of traditional rulers on the need to mobilise their subjects to pay taxes regularly. He said the call was necessary to help the administration actualise its dreams of boosting the revenue profile of the state.
Governor Oyetola spoke, yesterday during the presentation of staff of office and instrument of appointment to the newly appointed Olulamokun of Yakooyo, Oba Oyewole Oyediran, at Ife-North Local Government Area. He said the government will remain faithful to its avowed commitment to make life bearable for all citizens. The governor urged the monarchs to support the policies and programmes of the administration designed to move the state forward. He further implored the them to work in partnership with the government and security agencies, saying the government would continue to count on their support in the maintenance of peace, security, law and order. “I solicit more of your cooperation and prayers. The task of governing Osun and delivering the dividends of democracy is not a one-man show. It is the responsibility of all, which calls for involvement of all. “I, therefore, enjoin you to pay your taxes and rates as and when due,” Oyetola said. Earlier, Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, lauded the administration for being responsive and responsible to the people’s needs. Yakooyo Progressive Union President, Adewale Oyebowale, called on the residents to be united to move the town forward. In his response, Oba Oyediran thanked Governor Oyetola, the Ooni of Ife and people of the town and promised to put in his best to advance the socio-economic life of the people of the town and the state as a whole. Meanwhile, the state government has disclosed that, as from today, it will begin the inauguration of 100 revitalised Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the state. The government said the revitalisation exercise would cover 332 PHCs, which is one per ward. It, however, disclosed that100 of them had been completed, some of which had already been put to use from the day they were completed because of exigency. The government noted that 21 PHCs would be inaugurated in the first phase, while the remaining would be done later. This was disclosed by members of the Osun Health Revitalisation Committee, Rafiu Isamotu, who was the immediate past commissioner for Health and Remi Omowaye at the Conference Room, Ministry of Health, Government Secretariat, Osogbo.

Source: The Sun

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The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, proposed that Nigeria’s VAT be increased from 5% to 7.2%. This has caused a lot of counterblast with labour unions and some experts protesting the proposal.
What most people do not know is that Nigeria is one of the countries in the world with the lowest VAT rates. This proposal would most definitely do us as Nigerians a whole lot of good because what it means is, that we may eventually in the nearest future not have to borrow from other countries or be indebted to any country or organisation.we need to get this country out of the mess of indebtness, Nigeria has all it takes to become and succeed as an economical stable country. The country’s elites should not be left out either. If we all pay our taxes judiciously, then maybe, Nigeria would finally be a debt free country.

Source: Daily trust

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CENTRE for Social Justice (CSJ) has asked Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to expand the tax net for the proposed increase in the rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) to meaningfully impact on the economy.
“The way forward is to ensure that all persons liable to VAT, collect and remit the same to the appropriate authorities,” CSJ said in a statement made available to Tribune Online. The statement endorsed by Lead Director, Eze Onyekpere Esq commended the decision to increase in VAT from the current rate of five per cent to 7.2 per cent. “This will increase available resources for budget implementation and development across the three tiers of government. “We recall that Nigeria’s tax to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio is one of the lowest in the world and indeed in the West African sub-region. “We further recall that Nigeria’s VAT rate is one of the lowest in the sub-region.

Source: Headlines

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The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, says the governing party is focused on delivering good governance to Nigerians rather than 2023 elections. Oshiomhole said this in Abuja on Thursday at a Reconciliation Meeting with the party’s stakeholders and aggrieved governorship aspirants from Bayelsa. Posters of APC chieftain Bola Tinubu, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and Mr Oshiomhole had been sighted in some parts of the country lately ahead of 2023 poll. “I want to completely disassociate myself and members of our party from all those posters. “We believe that these are the handwork of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who think that they can create suspicion within the rank of APC by using some elements to print posters to create a complete diversion. “So, I stand here as National Chairman of APC not only to deny those posters as they affect me but to deny those posters as they affect any leader of our party because it is not yet time,” Mr Oshiomhole said. According to him, even people who may have ambition are aware that this is not the time. “At this point in time, all hands must be on deck to support President Muhammadu Buhari and all our state governors in their respective states to work together unanimously to deliver deliverables for the good of our people in the states and at the federal level.” Oshiomhole said that politics could not be an all-round season, saying that the season for politics was over. According to him, the judiciary is clearing the governorship, the National Assembly and even the presidential elections. “Once these are done and put behind us, I expect all Nigerians to insist that those elected should go back to work and deliver and justify the mandate they have been given. “This is not the time for electioneering. We cannot have electioneering for four years and thereafter you have people elected and continue for another four years. “There is not time for politicking, there is time for governance, this is the time for governance,” Oshiomhole said.

Source: Guardian

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Nigeria could be facing a fiscal crisis if it doesn’t improve its ability to collect taxes, the authorities have warned. Government expenditure has doubled and debt servicing costs have grown, but revenues have missed their targets by at least 45% a year since 2015.
Despite that, the Nigerian president’s office has praised the work of the national tax body,the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), for doubling the number of taxpayers since 2015. Some online users were quick to ask if that’s true, why hasn’t there been an equivalent increase in government revenue, and as a result improvements in things like schools, roads and healthcare? Getting more people to pay tax In 2018, 19 million Nigerians paid into federal or state coffers, according to government data. A World Bank report in that year put the country’s economically active population at 65 million – so even with rising numbers of taxpayers in recent years, that is still less than 30% paying tax. The government has been going after individuals that it believes are liable for tax and have not been paying. Two years ago, the country offered a 12-month amnesty for Nigerians to declare and pay taxes on all previously undeclared income and assets to avoid penalty payments and possible prosecution. A World Bank report last yearsaid this was only partly successful with just 8% of the target achieved by the end of the amnesty period. However, many Nigerians will be reluctant to pay taxes because of concerns the money raised may be siphoned off instead of being spent on health, education and other public services. Oil price goes down. The big issue facing the government has been lower international oil prices and the recession experienced by the Nigerian economy in 2016. The average price of crude oil fell from around $113 a barrel in 2012 to just over $54 in 2017. Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer and between 2012 to 2014, the oil sector provided 57% of total government revenue. This fell to 41% between 2016 to 2018. The government says that value added tax (VAT) and company income tax have been on the increase since 2015. But a UN report this yearshowed that in 2018, Nigeria’s estimated VAT gap – the shortfall between potential and actual VAT collections – was one of the largest in Africa. VAT gap in selected African countries. Nigeria also says it is intensifying measures to collect tax from new revenue streams, such as online transactions. It has said it will ask banks to charge tax at 5% on online transactions, both domestic and international, from January 2020. A report this year by Oxford University’s Oxford Martin Schoolestimates that non-oil revenues have risen but adds that much of the gain has been wiped out by inflation and currency movements. How does it compare globally? According to some estimates, Nigeria has one of the world’s lowest ratios of tax to GDP. That is the total amount of tax collected as a proportion of GDP – the value of the country’s goods and services. In 2016, it was at 6%, going by figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a grouping of the world’s leading market economies. That is the latest year for which data is available. The tax-to-GDP ratio in South Africa was 29%, Ghana 18%, Egypt 15% and Kenya 18%, says the OECD. The average for OECD members – which includes all the advanced economies – was 34%. The World Bank uses a slightly different measurement of tax take, which does not include most social security payments. This puts Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio in 2016 lower at just 3.4%. In 2017, the ratio did improve to 4.8%, according to figures provided to us by the Nigerian authorities. We don’t have a figure for 2018, but it is worth pointing out that 15% is the levelwhich the World Bank says is necessary to achieve economic growth and poverty reduction. How do you improve tax take? Many other developing countries have a low tax-to-GDP ratio and recent data indicates that about 60 countries fall below the 15% threshold. Bernardin Akitoby, an assistant director in the IMF, says a typical advanced country has a tax to GDP ratio of around 40%. Mr Akitoby says there is no one-size-fits-all solution to increase the tax take – but there are a few lessons that can be drawn from countries that have been successful in the past:

Source: The constable

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UPDATE!
Recently, the Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT) sitting at Enugu held that due process must be followed by tax authorities in demanding payment of taxes from taxpayers. This decision, made in the case of Polaris Bank PLC v Abia State Board of Internal Revenue (ABIR), reassures taxpayers that the tax authorities cannot impose demand notices on them, out of the blue.
FACTS
In this case, Polaris Bank received a demand notice for Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Witholding Tax, etc. from the ABIR after ABIR completed a tax audit on Polaris for the years 2006 – 2011. Polaris made an objection to the demand notice but later paid a part of the demanded taxes. ABIR later sent Polaris further demand notices and letters, giving Polaris seven (7) days in some instances and 48 hours in other instances, to pay up different taxes. ABIR stated that failure to pay the demanded sums would make the amounts final and binding on Polaris.

Source: The tax vile

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Willian volleyed home in the 78th minute to give Frank Lampard’s Chelsea a 2-1 win away to Lille in France on Wednesday that they will hope kickstarts their Champions League campaign. The Brazilian’s fine strike, on his 300th appearance for the club, came after Tammy Abraham’s opener for the visitors on his 22nd birthday was cancelled out by a Victor Osimhen goal for Lille under the closed roof at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Chelsea are now off the mark in Group H after losing at home to Valencia a fortnight ago, although it is Ajax who continue to top the section with a maximum six points thanks to their 3-0 victory away in Spain. Lampard’s team face the Dutch club next and will do so with renewed belief after this potentially pivotal victory. It was a game decided by one of the most experienced players on the pitch but which was bristling with exciting young talent as these clubs adjust to seeing their standout players — Eden Hazard on one side, Nicolas Pepe on the other — depart in the close season. Lampard fielded two 24-year-olds as well as four more players aged 22 or under in his line-up here, as teenager Reece James started as a right wing-back in a 3-4-1-2 system. James only made his top-team debut for the club a week ago in a League Cup tie against fourth-tier Grimsby Town. Much has been made of Lampard’s promotion of youth this season in response to Chelsea’s transfer ban, although their team here also featured N’Golo Kante, with the France midfielder returning from his latest spell on the sidelines. Indeed, the average age of Chelsea’s team at kick-off was actually a year older than that of Lille, despite the French side being captained by 35-year-old Portuguese centre-back Jose Fonte. They need look no further than Ajax — thrilling semi-finalists last season — to see how far a young team with an element of surprise can go in this competition, although right now it is hard to imagine either of these sides reaching the latter stages. – Hudson-Odoi helps change game – They did serve up a highly entertaining contest, though, with Chelsea taking a 22nd-minute lead when Fikayo Tomori’s ball into the box was not dealt with by the home defence. Abraham — capped by England but eligible for Nigeria through his father — emerged from an onside position to control and fire home his eighth goal of the season from close range. Lille actually looked the better side going forward for long spells and Luiz Araujo was denied by a good Kepa Arrizabalaga save at the end of a counter-attack led by Jonathan Bamba just after the half-hour mark. Moments later they were level, Bamba sending in a corner from the left for Osimhen, the gangly 20-year-old Nigerian striker signed in the summer, to rise and head in his seventh of the campaign. Jorginho struck the outside of the post with a first-time strike from range just before half-time, while Kepa stretched to tip a Benjamin Andre header around the post early in the second half. However, the introduction of Callum Hudson-Odoi, the youngest of the lot at just 18, for James midway through the second half, and subsequent change of formation, breathed new life into the visitors going forward. Mason Mount was denied by a fine Mike Maignan save soon after, and just 12 minutes remained when winger Hudson-Odoi crossed from the left all the way to the back post where Willian connected first-time with a volley that bounced down into the ground, over the goalkeeper’s head and in. There was no way back for Lille, who have now failed to win any of their last 13 matches in European competition.

Source: Punch

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Arsenal are very familiar with injury problems. However, somewhat unusually, they are now nearly at a full squad compliment. Both Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney are near to full returns for the club and are fit to play in the Europa League tomorrow, reports lastwordonfootball.com. Unai Emery held his usual press conference ahead of the match and fielded a question about the Scottish fullback. He told the media, “Tierney still needs time and confidence, training and playing. Thursday is a good opportunity again, because he is ready to play” His Spanish counterpart is nearly in the same boat, “Hector Bellerin is the same, but with a small difference. Because he was injured for more time and after a long time, nine months, I think he needed to first play 15 minutes with us last week, perfect, the first minutes. But if he is feeling well, then normally, he is going to play.” So, barring any setback in training, fans will get to see both Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney. The only players who will be fully unavailable are Alexandre Lacazette and Emile Smith Rowe. The striker is still recovering from an ankle injury and the midfielder continues his recovery from a head injury against Nottingham Forest. Standard Liege will also have most of their squad available for selection, with only Orlando Sa out injured. The Belgian side have enjoyed a rosy start to the season. Their six wins and one draw has left them in second place in the top flight behind only Club Brugge. They also showed against Vitoria Guimaraes that they are not the minnows they appear. While Liege did benefit from an own goal, they held on to the lead and kept a clean sheet to secure three points. They are opposition that Arsenal should respect, even if they are favourites. The Gunners already faced their toughest test of the Europa League group stage in the away win against Eintracht Frankfurt. They also benefit from the availability of Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney. So, it should come as no surprise to see Arsenal being predicted to take all three points.

Source: Punch

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Experts and groups such as the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association have said the recent increase in the Value Added Tax rate from five per cent to 7.2 per cent will lead to closure of many businesses. The Head of Tax and Corporate Advisory Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Taiwo Oyedele, said the new VAT rate would shrink the GDP growth and disposable income of Nigerians.
The Director-General of NECA, Mr Timothy Olawale, noted that the timing of the increase in VAT rate was wrong, stressing that the government ought to support businesses in reducing the alarming unemployment rate in the country. Recall that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, on Wednesday announced the VAT rate increase at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting. Olawale, however, argued that the benefits of the recently signed national minimum wage of N30,000 would be neutralised by the proposed increase in the VAT, thus further reducing the purchasing power of the citizens. “If this new VAT rate is implemented, the purchasing power of the citizens would have been reduced, sales of goods and services will reduce and inventories for business will be high and could lead to closure of businesses that ought to be supported by government in reducing unemployment rate that is currently alarming. “Furthermore, the benefits of the recently signed national minimum wage of N30,000 would be neutralised by the proposed increase in the VAT, further reducing the purchasing power of the citizens, leading to increase in prices of goods and services. It will result in upward movement of the inflation rate, and further contraction of the economy.” Olawale who was speaking in Abuja noted that the recently released data of the country’s Gross Domestic Product indicated a contraction in the past two quarters (Q4 2018, 2.38 per cent; Q1 2019, 2.10 per cent and Q2 2019 1.94 per cent). Rather than increase the VAT rate at this point, he said countries should be formulating fiscal policies to stimulate their economies. “Therefore, this suggests that at this period of time, countries should be formulating fiscal measures/policies to stimulate their economies,” he stated. Olawale, who said that in the event that the government must increase VAT rate against the will of the people, it should have been limited to luxury or ostentatious goods. He also urged the government to double its efforts at expanding the tax net, reduce the income gap and improve the economy through more friendly fiscal policies and promote the ease of doing business in Nigeria. Oyedele of the PwC in a statement on Thursday said more people were likely to evade tax payment as businesses would become less competitive. At the current rate of five per cent, the PwC partner explained that the country’s VAT collection of N1.1tn in 2018 amounted to 0.9 per cent of the GDP compared to about 3.8 per cent for commonwealth and ECOWAS countries. While estimating that the government would earn additional N440bn annually from the two per cent increase in VAT rate, he said for Nigerian businesses, it meant a 40 per cent increase in VAT cost. The tax expert noted that because VAT on capital expenditure was not allowed as a credit in Nigeria, the cost of real investments would go up. On the positive side, Oyedele said, “Additional VAT revenue will help reduce budget deficits, reduce government debt and fund social services especially at sub-national level.” To avoid the negative impact of VAT, he argued that VAT should be paid according to individuals’ ability as not everyone could afford a seven per cent VAT rate. He suggested other palliative measures, saying “exempt or zero rate essential consumptions like foods, education and primary health care. The exemption should not be limited to only unprocessed food items. In other words, a VAT increase should not affect the price of bread.” “Create a VAT registration threshold to eliminate VAT compliance burden for small businesses. Allow businesses to account for VAT on cash basis rather than on invoice, which creates a cash-flow problem. Lead by example; ensure that government and all MDAs fully comply by remitting VAT collected from their contractors. Ensure transparent reporting and efficient utilisation of the revenue for public services and infrastructure.” Reacting to the proposed increase, a former Director-General, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr Suleyman Ndanusa, said it would affect demand for goods and services. He said companies would suffer if people did not demand for goods and services because of VAT increase. “If people do not demand for goods because of more tax burden, it will affect the companies that produce them. And if the companies that produce them are not making money, it will obviously affect their profitability and income,” he said. Ndanusa, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria, also noted that the timing was wrong, considering the challenges in the economy. “The timing is quite wrong. At this point in time, our economy needs to be helped by policies that will ginger more consumption and more disposable income for the masses. The paradigm for me has to change. Are we increasing tax just for the purpose of revenue or managing our fiscal policy taxation for growth? The paradigm has shifted from revenue-driven taxation to growth-driven taxation,” he said. He added that government needed to introduce incentives, reduce interest rates and pump up consumption to help the economy to grow instead of increasing taxes. “The approach must be holistic, obviously at a time like this when there is a seeming recession or coming out of recession. Government needs to pump up consumption; when you begin to tax expenditure just for the purpose of revenue, it will further dampen demand and affect businesses.”

Source: Punch

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Value Added Tax (VAT) is a consumption tax levied at each stage of the supply chain and ultimately borne by the consumers. The tax was introduced in Nigeria in 1993 via the Value Added Tax Act (VATA), after a recommendation by a study group that was set up in 1991 to review the Country’s entire tax system. It is worth knowing that before the introduction of VAT, sales tax was in operation in Nigeria. However, VAT is different from sales tax, as it has a broader scope and includes most supplies, professional services and banking transactions.
The Tax is managed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and is charged on the supply of goods and services other than those exempted in the first schedule to the VATA. It operates on a credit mechanism such that each producer along the value chain can claim the tax paid at the previous stage of production, when passing the product of his effort to the consumer at the next stage (provided that the producer and the merchant deal in goods on which the input VAT is claimable). The operation of the credit mechanism, however, stops at the stage where the item is purchased by the final consumer, who bears the full tax burden. In essence, merchants offset the total VAT paid on purchases (called ‘input tax’) in a given period (usually one month), against the total VAT charged on sales (i.e. ‘output tax’) and pay the excess to the FIRS. For companies operating in the oil and gas industry however, the law requires service recipients to withhold the output VAT charged by their vendors and remit it, directly to the FIRS. This requirement of the law has pitched the tax authorities against oil service companies who are legitimately entitled to claim their valid input VAT against the output, before remitting the excess to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). In response, the latter has always maintained that the affected companies should file a claim for the refund, for processing and payment. However, there has been some controversies on the process for the recovery of such input VAT, given the provision of the VATA. Thus, this article is focused on breaking the myth of the challenges faced by companies operating in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, in recovering valid input VAT on cost incurred against the output VAT on their supplies. Allowable Input VAT: In 1998, the VAT Act was amended to restrict the scope of allowable input VAT. T through section 6 of the Finance (Miscellaneous Taxation Provisions, Act No. 18, 1998, which introduced section 13(a) (now section 17) of the VAT Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004). Section 17 of the amended VATA provides that: “………..the input tax to be allowed as a deduction from output tax shall be limited to the tax on goods purchased or imported directly for resale and goods which form the stock-in-trade used for the direct production of any new product on which the output tax is charged”. The provision also excluded the input VAT incurred on overheads, services and general administration of any business from being claimed against a company’s output VAT. Rather, such input VAT should be expended through the company’s profit or loss account. The input VAT on capital items and fixed assets are to be capitalized with the cost of the items. Deduction at Source: VAT charged by a vendor is expected to be paid to it by the service recipient, together with the invoice value for the goods sold or services received. However, section 13(2) of the VATA provides that for companies operating in the oil and gas sector, VAT charged them by their vendors should be deducted at source and remitted directly to the FIRS. This position was further clarified and corroborated by the FIRS via paragraph 13(2) of its information circular .

Source: This days

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Real Madrid scrambled their way back from two goals down to avoid a hugely embarrassing defeat to Club Bruges and draw 2-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday. The result left the 13-times winners with one point after two games in Group A. Nigerian forward Emmanuel Bonaventure stunned the Santiago Bernabeu by giving the Belgians the lead in the ninth minute, mis-controlling the ball and nudging it towards goal but somehow still beating Real keeper Thibaut Courtois to score. Bonaventure struck again with another scrappy goal in the 39th minute, losing his footing as he bore down on Courtois but still producing a stunning finish to lift the ball high into the net. Real captain Sergio Ramos headed his side back into contention with a goal in the 54th minute. While midfielder Casemiro equalised with a header in the 85th, moments after Bruges captain Ruud Vormer had been sent off. Zinedine Zidane’s side is joint-bottom of Group A with one point, having lost 3-0 at Paris St Germain two weeks ago. PSG won 1-0 away to Galatasaray to top the group with six points.

Source: Punch

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Taxman has invited bids for a new system to monitor online transactions between merchants and their customers. Kenyans transacting goods and services online will soon begin paying income tax and Value Added Tax (VAT) as the Government moves to implement the controversial digital tax.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has kicked off the search for a technology service provider to install a monitoring and payments system that will track and audit transactions between both local and international merchants and their customers. The tax collection system will entail an integrated payment gateway solution to identify and authorise payments through the settlement of data to and from merchants’ online portals to their banks. “In a bid to enhance tax compliance in the Kenya digital economy, KRA seeks to acquire an innovative tax collection service for digital platforms with a presence in Kenya,” said the taxman in a call-out for bids. Treasury proposed the introduction of taxes on digital economic activities in the Finance Bill, 2019 as one of the means of increasing revenue collection following a Sh100 billion shortfall last year. The new system will give the taxman the ability to monitor online trade transactions between both local and international merchants and their customers in the country. For More of This and Other Stories, Grab Your Copy of the Standard Newspaper. This is bound to raise opposition from some stakeholders given the implications of sharing sensitive corporate and consumer data with third parties. At the same time, the Government is relying on a broad description of digital economic activities that does not distinguish between large e-commerce players like Amazon or Safaricom’s Masoko and individuals selling clothes on Facebook and Instagram. “The solution should provide for analysis and dash-boarding/reporting in real-time and have audit trail capabilities,” explained KRA in the notice. KRA also wants the service provider to integrate the system with all internal revenue systems for data sharing purposes and updating of taxpayers’ ledger accounts. The digital tax has been criticised by some stakeholders in the industry as retrogressive to the growth of the economy. Tech giant Google last month told Parliament that the digital tax could raise the cost of products and services in the country, adding that it amounts to double taxation and could precipitate a price war.

Source: Standard Media
 

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Egypt’s votes for national icon Mohamed Salah for the world’s best player award were rejected by FIFA because they were signed in capital letters and deemed invalid, world football’s governing body said Friday. Cairo had demanded an explanation after the results of voting for the FIFA Player of the Year were announced Monday but Egypt’s support for Salah was ignored. The Liverpool star placed fourth, 20 votes behind winner Lionel Messi. The results are based on the votes of national coaches, team captains and members of the press in selecting their top players of the year. According to FIFA the “signatures on the voting forms were in capital letters and thus seemed not valid (not authentic)” and “the voting forms were also not signed by the General Secretary which is mandatory.” They added they had sent two reminders to the Egyptian FA to sent correct forms, but they had failed to do so by the deadline of August 21. Salah hinted at his disappointment on social media, changing his Twitter bio to say he only plays for Liverpool and removing any mention of his affiliation to Egypt. Salah posted a conciliatory tweet later saying “no matter how much they try to change my love for you and your people”, referring to Egypt, “they won’t be able to”. The only Egyptian vote for the award was made by journalist Hany Danial, who selected Senegal’s Sadio Mane as his player of the year.

Source: Guardain

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Tax authorities in the country have been warned against scaring off foreign investors from the country in their efforts to shore up government revenues. The Managing Consultant, Pedabo Associates Limited, Mr Albert Folorunsho, said the global tax compliance drive would have implications for Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria.
Folorunsho stated this while delivering a keynote paper at the investiture of Dr Titilayo Fowokan as the third state chairperson of the Society of Women in Taxation (Lagos Chapter) on Saturday. “Nigeria is not isolated from the global tax drive to boost revenue and prevent base erosion and shifting of profit from Nigeria to other tax jurisdictions,” he said. He said Nigeria and over 100 countries signed the multilateral instrument on prevention of profit shifting, adding that some measures were adopted by the Federal Inland Revenue Service from the global tax approach. Folorunsho noted that the FIRS had introduced other measures aimed at increasing tax revenue including plans to start charging Value Added Tax on all online transactions and strict enforcement of tax payment by placing lien on taxpayers’ accounts. He said, “Tax-related issues that can affect Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria negatively are dividend tax; multiplicity of taxation by various organs of government; lack of advance tax rulings on certain issues; ambiguity in tax laws; wrong interpretation and application of the tax laws; uncertain tax regime, and circle of unending tax audits/investigations by tax authorities.” According to him, for Nigeria, FDI will be more affected by the approach of local tax regulators than the global tax drive. “This is because the global approach to tax drive is yet to be enacted into our local laws to make them applicable and effective in our environment,” Folorunsho said. He said the implication of the global tax drive by other jurisdictions for Nigeria might be positive if the country could operate a more friendly tax environment based on the existing tax laws. “However, aggressive tax drive by tax authorities can impact FDI negatively. Unhealthy approach to tax drive will scare investors from Nigerian economy. Though there has not been significant decrease in FDI to Nigeria for some years, tax drive cannot be said to be the factor responsible for the decreased inflow. Uncertain tax regime or hidden taxes will discourage FDI,” he added. According to Folorunsho, as the impact of the current global tax reform takes root, mobilisation of capital across jurisdictions will become fairer and more competitive. “Nigeria cannot achieve her full potential by increasing tax revenue alone. Government, in its effort to increase revenue generation through taxation, should always be mindful of its impact on the economic growth drivers, one of which is foreign direct investment,” he added. The President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Gladys Simplice, said the CITN would continue to collaborate with relevant stakeholders towards sensitising all Nigerians on the need to pay their taxes. She said, “There is no hiding place for tax defaulters any more, in view of the increased collaboration among tax authorities and agencies towards ensuring that all corporate entities and individuals are brought into the tax net.

Source: Punch

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Lionel Messi has sustained a strain in his left thigh, Barcelona confirmed on Wednesday. Messi was substituted at half-time of Barca’s 2-1 win over Villarreal on Tuesday in what was the striker’s first start of the season. He had previously been out with a calf injury sustained on August 5 and Barcelona have not indicated when they expect their captain to return from his latest setback. “First team player Leo Messi has a strain in the adductor of his left thigh,” a club statement read. “He is out and his recovery will dictate his availability.” Messi is expected to miss his team’s visit to Getafe in La Liga on Saturday. Barcelona then plays at home to Inter Milan in the Champions League next Wednesday before hosting Sevilla in the league four days later. They will hope to have the 32-year-old back as soon as possible, particularly after a rocky opening to the season that has included only three wins from seven matches in all competitions. After recovering from his calf problem, Messi made substitute appearances against Borussia Dortmund and Granada before being deemed ready to start against Villarreal. He set up the opening goal, providing the cross for Antoine Griezmann to head in after six minutes. Despite Messi going off at the interval, Barca secured a comfortable 2-1 victory at Camp Nou.

Source: Punch

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Harvey Elliott became the youngest player ever to start a competitive match for Liverpool as the winger played in Wednesday’s League Cup tie at Milton Keynes Dons aged 16 years and 174 days old. Elliott is the second-youngest player in Liverpool history after Jerome Sinclair, then aged 16 years and six days, featured as a substitute against West Bromwich Albion in September 2012. Breaking records is nothing new to the highly-rated Elliott, who became the youngest to play in the League Cup when he appeared for Fulham in a third-round tie against Millwall last season at the age of 15 years and 174 days. Following his summer move to the Champions League winners, Elliott hasn’t had to wait long to write his name in the Liverpool record books. The English teenager was making his debut in the third round clash at Stadium MK as Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has left his established stars back on Merseyside to prepare for Saturday’s match against Sheffield United in the Premier League. Elliott made just two Premier League appearances for Fulham as the Cottagers were relegated last season. But his vast potential persuaded Liverpool to bring him to Anfield and he had already impressed Klopp during pre-season before scoring for the club’s Under-21s in a recent Football League Trophy game against Oldham.

Source: Guardian

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Tax Justice and Governance Platform, an advocacy group of civil society organisations, which supports the growth of the internally generated revenue in Nigeria, has expressed its readiness to organise a three-day tax awareness training for traders in three Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Lagos State.
The training would be part of the organisation’s efforts in widening the tax net, promoting tax education and compliance, and the monitoring of how revenues are spent on improving the lives of the citizenry. Speaking recently to journalists in Lagos, during a sensitization visit to Alade Market, the Executive Director, Development Animation Programme (DAP), Felix Obanubi, said it was high time traders understood tax system in the country. Obanubi, said the three-day programme which is a non-residential Training of Trainers (TOTs) for 40 participants would commence from September 17-19. He also said that the goal of the training was to introduce the principle of taxation to participants and reasons why developing countries need to have efficient tax systems. He added that at the end of the session, participants would be able to understand the different roles and responsibilities played by men and women in their communities. According to him: “The Lagos state chapter of the tax justice and governance platform, acknowledges the development strides of the past and present administration in Lagos state, especially in its aspiration to do more which is in tangent with its proposed budget of N873, 532,460,705 for the year 2019, we as a platform understand the need for the cooperation and compliance of the citizenry at large in making this financial aspiration of the Lagos state government a reality. “The goal is to strengthen citizens, LGA officials, market women and men to enhance voice and accountability for improved service delivery in the three selected LGAs namely; Ikeja, Alimosho and Ikorodu in Lagos state where citizens and especially market women and men will be mobilised through tax justice advocacy to effectively participate in and influence issues of tax justice and budget.”

Source: This day

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More than 81 percent of taxable adults and businesses in Nigeria do not pay their income taxes due to low tax moral in the country, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has learnt. This was disclosed in a presentation made by Research Director of the Fiscal Policy Roundtable of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, NESG, Tayo Oyedele, yesterday (Wednesday) at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat in Abuja.
Oyedele, who was in the company of the Chairman of the Fiscal Policy Roundtable, Sarah Alade, had paid a courtesy call on the Director-General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Asishana Bayo Okauru, to solicit an opportunity to expose this sour narrative to the nation’s governors and seek their involvement to correct the ills that are denying the country of its collectible revenues. Oyedele, who condemned the apathy of Nigerians on payment of taxes, said figures available to him reveal that there were 20 million registered taxpayers in the country, scoffing at the figure which seems paltry compared to the presumed nation’s population of nearly 200 million people. While explaining the concept and reasons adduced to the nation’s low tax moral, the NESG boss disclosed, however, that nearly 85 percent of those who deem it unnecessary to pay taxes to the government willingly pay same to “non-government actors". This ironic twist, the NESG attributed to the distrust that pervades the environment when it comes to paying taxes, dues, and levies to a government that does not command the public trust. Of the tiers of government on whose shoulders tax collection is placed, the research showed that local councils and their officials are among the most untrustworthy, followed by state governments and then the tax officials themselves. “Many believe that it is unwise to pay taxes to entities that do not translate taxes to services or to officials who diverted same to personal use,” Oyedele stated while insisting that there were nonetheless 17 percent of the population who see the payment of taxes as a civic duty which all must perform. Maintaining that there were 354 taxes in Nigeria, which create duplicity of taxes and favoritism on where to audit and where not to audit, not minding the unprofessional conduct of tax collectors, who sometimes threaten the public, NESG also regretted that the penalties for non-payment of taxes in Nigeria were not only unhurtful and not punitive enough, but that the processes of penalizing reluctant taxpayers were selective. The NESG, therefore, recommended that it would have been better if the country minimized the tax regimes of the country from 354 to only 10, abrogating meaningless taxes as the ozone layer tax which the population can hardly understand. According to the research, as narrated by the NESG, personal income taxpayers would have been happier to pay their taxes if education, health, and infrastructural provision were raised to global standards, while corporate taxpayers would love to see electricity, roads, and security improved.

Source: Sahara report

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Leicester City assistant manager Chris Davies says the coaching staff and players of the Premier League outfit are “very pleased” for Kelechi Iheanacho after the forward scored his first competitive goal for the Foxes in over a year Iheanacho found the back of the net after coming off the bench in his first appearance of the season as the Foxes advanced to the fourth round of the League Cup on the back of a 4-0 rout of the Hatters. Prior to Tuesday’s game at Kenilworth Road, the 22-year-old’s last competitive outing for the Foxes came in their 1-0 Premier League loss to Manchester City on May 6 at Etihad Stadium, while his last goal came a few months earlier in a 22 September 2018 league game against Huddersfield Town. “It’s great for Kel, because he’s been outside of the squad, let alone the team, just recently,” said Leicester City assistant Davies at the post-match conference. “But he’s been working hard in training, the manager (Brendan Rodgers) has given him an opportunity tonight and he’s come in and he’s not been on the pitch for long but he’s made an impact. “He’s scored, he’s pressed the game well, he showed a good hunger, a good appetite, and it’s instinctive finish to chip the goalkeeper Asked how pleased Iheanacho’s teammates were for him, Davies replied: “They were pleased for him. He works hard in training; he’s got the right mentality, so everyone was pleased for him to get that. ⁣ “He had a couple of half-chances leading up to that that hadn’t quite gone in, so you just hoped he could get himself a goal. We’re very pleased for him.”⁣ City scored twice either side of half-time to claim a 4-0 win at Kenilworth Road with goals from Demarai Gray, James Justin, Youri Tielemans and Iheanacho.⁣The win sees them into the hat for the Fourth Round, the draw taking place on Wednesday evening.⁣

Source: Guardian

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Lionel Messi endured yet more injury frustration on Tuesday after going off at half-time against Villarreal but Barcelona gave their coach Ernesto Valverde some much-needed relief with a comfortable 2-1 victory. Messi received treatment in the first half for what looked like a problem with his left thigh and was then unable to continue after the interval, replaced by Ousmane Dembele. His withdrawal will be a major concern for Barca, particularly given this was Messi’s first start of the season after just recovering from a niggling calf injury sustained at the start of August. Even if this latest complaint proves a separate issue, Valverde will face questions about his captain’s readiness to return and whether the 32-year-old was rushed back too soon. Certainly, Barcelona would have been eager to see Messi in the line-up, having suffered a humbling 2-0 loss at newly-promoted Granada on Saturday, a result that left them with seven points from five games, their worst start to a season since 1995. They arrived at Camp Nou with doubts hovering, particularly over Valverde, but delivered a far more convincing win than the scoreline suggested, thanks to early goals from Antoine Griezmann, his third of the season, and Arthur Melo. Santi Cazorla put Villarreal in touch on the stroke of half-time but in truth the visitors barely threatened thereafter, with Barcelona impressively composed when nerves might easily have taken over. It means Valverde’s side climb to fourth in the table, one point behind Real Madrid and level on points with Atletico Madrid, who both play on Wednesday. Villarreal’s encouraging start stalls a little as they drop to eighth. Barcelona started well, with Griezmann heading in after just six minutes, darting to the near post to flick home Messi’s floated corner. The pair shared a celebratory hug too. Seven minutes later, there was a second and another goal almost from nothing. Arthur collected the ball 30 yards out and harpooned a shot straight past Sergio Asenjo and into the top right-hand corner. Messi, who won FIFA’s Men’s Player of the Year award on Monday, took treatment on the sideline just after the half-hour mark and Cazorla pulled one back soon after with a swerving effort from distance. The ball straightened as it flew, which fooled goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, on his way left towards the corner. Dembele replaced Messi and the 16-year-old Ansu Fati came on for Luis Suarez with 12 minutes left. Fati twice went close but shot over and then wide. A third for Barca looked more likely than an equaliser for Villarreal.

Source: punch

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One person was killed and five injured in clashes between rival football fans after a cup tie near the Moroccan city of Casablanca, local authorities said Wednesday. “A group of supporters of Wydad Casablanca (club) stopped a vehicle carrying fans of AS FAR Rabat, throwing stones and the situation degenerated,” they said in a statement. They said one person died of his injuries after “falling from on top of the vehicle” and five others were hospitalised. Police made six arrests over the violence which followed a 3-1 defeat for the home club. Football violence is common in Morocco costing the lives of supporters in March 2016, after which authorities temporarily cracked down on radical supporters clubs.

Source: Punch

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Barring any last minute delay, the Technical Committee of the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee, NTPIC, will soon present a Finance Bill and Policy Note to the Minister of Finance and Budget Planning. Indication to this was disclosed at the second sitting of the committee on Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Headquarters in Abuja, by the Deputy Chairman of the technical committee, Dr. Bode Oyetude, who said that the sub-committee would finish its work in the next 10 to 15 days.
“This is the second committee meeting we are having and we hope to bring it to a close in the next 10 to 15 days. We are working to put up a finance bill and policy note to the Minister of Finance, that would raise revenue and reduce the cost of doing business in Nigeria, deal with some areas of tax inequity, international taxation including profit shifting and base erosion”. At its inauguration, the executive chairman of FIRS, Tunde Fowler, charged the technical committee to work harmoniously to achieve the desired result. “I charge the Chairman and members of the Technical Committee with the responsibility of accelerating the drafting and submission of a draft Finance Bill (and if deemed necessary, any draft Executive Order (s), to harmonise the various tax and excise law reform efforts. It is our expectation that the Technical Committee will work assiduously over the next few weeks to produce a singular set of fiscal measures that will be considered and approved by the reconstituted NTPIC. Once agreed, these fiscal measures are to be submitted to the Economic Management Team and the Federal Executive Council for approval and ultimate transmission to the National Assembly, for passage into law as part of the efforts to support the 2020 Executive Budget Proposal.” The general committee is headed by Fowler with the comptroller-general of customs, Ahmadu Ali, as the deputy chairman, while Ambassador Adeolu Dipeolu who is also the special adviser to president Muhammadu Buhari on economic matters in the vice president’s office is the chairman of the technical-sub-committee.

Source: Punch

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Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford is likely to be “out for a while” with a groin injury sustained during the defeat to West Ham, according to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. England international Rashford limped off in the 61st minute of United’s 2-0 loss, with Solskjaer forced to play midfielder Jesse Lingard in attack as he was without Anthony Martial (thigh) and Mason Greenwood (tonsillitis). Solskjaer confirmed Rashford will have a scan today and he will be hoping for good news given the dearth of attacking options at his disposal following the departures of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez to Inter. “He felt his groin,” Solskjaer told MUTV. “We’ll do a scan tomorrow (today) to see how badly he’s injured. I don’t know how long he’ll be out; I’m not a doctor. But he’ll probably be out for a little while.” United face Rochdale in the EFL Cup on Wednesday then have three games in seven days against Arsenal, AZ and Newcastle United. Solskjaer added: “Hopefully Mason and Anthony will be back for the Arsenal game and at least one of them for Rochdale.” The defeat at West Ham left Solskjaer’s side with just eight points from six Premier League games.

Source: punch

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Manchester United announced record revenues of £627 million ($780 million) on Tuesday as the club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward moved to reassure fans his priority remains on the pitch. United have won just two of their last 11 Premier League games stretching back to last season, which saw them miss out on this season’s Champions League. The loss of income from Europe’s premier club competition will be felt in next year’s figures with United expecting a drop in revenue to between £560 and £580 million. United made just three summer signings in Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James and have already found themselves short up front early in the campaign after letting Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez leave for Inter Milan. However, Woodward defended the change in approach to target young British talent. “We remain focused on our plan of rebuilding the team and continuing to strengthen our youth system, in line with the philosophy of the club and the manager,” said Woodward in a United statement. “This is reflected in the recent addition of three exciting first team players, key player contract extensions and the talent we have coming through our Academy. “Everyone at Manchester United is committed to delivering on our primary objective of winning trophies.” The Red Devils have not won the Premier League since Alex Ferguson’s retirement as manager in 2013 and do not appear to have closed the gap on rivals Liverpool and Manchester City. Premier League leaders Liverpool already enjoy a 10-point lead over United, who sit in eighth, just six games into the new campaign. However, United still remain out in front of their Premier League rivals when it comes to making money. City’s revenue for the 2017/18 season was £500.5 million, while Liverpool’s income for the same season was £455 million. But United are falling behind their traditional rivals on the continent for the right to be branded the world’s richest club. Last week, Barcelona announced they expect to pass the one billion euro ($1.1 billion, £883 million) mark for the first time this season. United’s net profit in the 12 months to June 30 was £18.9 million as their wage bill again increased by 12 percent to £332 million. And there was also an exceptional £19.6 million expense for the sacking of manager Jose Mourinho and his coaching staff in December.

Source: Guardain

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The head of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Mr. Babatunde Fowler and his team has announced plans to apply Value Added Tax (VAT) to online transactions starting from 2020. This has not gone down well with ordinary consumers in the country who think it will dent their choice in online payments. The Federal government’s resolve to diversify the sources of funding to run this economy is running on full throttle.
This move comes after the Head of the FIRS Mr. Babatunde Fowler in his reply to the query point to the low revenue stream and the lack of accountability of access to collecting revenue accruing from the sale of oil. It blamed the recession for the low revenue generated in the same period as compared with Jonathan administration. A critical look at online transactions makes me worry if FIRS is not applying a knee jerk reaction in response to the President’s query. The challenge the agency has to focus on critically is that a very large percentage of businesses in Nigeria is in the informal sector of the economy. Added to this is the fact that no real progress has been made to expand the actual number of individuals and businesses paying tax. Is VAT added tax to significant going to improve that position for the FIRS? What is the value of revenue from online transactions? First, CBN 2018 ePayment Statistics shows an impressive performance from all ePayment sources. POS payments last year contributed 2billion naira. Secondly, it is important to note that e-commerce businesses are already tethering on the brink of bankruptcy. The highs of pre-2015 revenue figures are a dream today. How much value is earned from online transactions across e-commerce platforms? The FIRS has to appreciate the fact that a very large percentage of online transactions are no longer initiated nor terminated on e-commerce platforms. Let’s be clear the social media – the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest are another means of connecting buyers and sellers. There no provision of a payment portal in the social media platform. The implication is that transactions are concluded via banking or payment applications. For example, Chioma posts pictures of her latest fabrics on Instagram her followers send her a direct message for prices. Once there is agreement Chioma contacts her delivery team or third party logistics company and sends her bank details to her buyer who then makes payment. The buyer has a range of options to choose from i.e. deposit cash into the account, mobile banking app, payment platform (Remita, Paystack etc) or ATM transfer. My guess is that when the ordinary consumer feels constrained by the VAT amount on the invoice he/she will choose to walk into a bank to conclude the transaction.

Source: Daily View

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Nigeria is using a system of tax credits to encourage private companies to share the cost of infrastructure projects as part of a drive to diversify Africa’s biggest economy away from its reliance on oil sales, the country’s tax chief said. Executive Chairman of Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Tunde Fowler speaks during an exclusive interview with Reuters in Abuja, Nigeria, September 21, 2016.
Tunde Fowler, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), said in an interview on Wednesday that more than 10 local companies had applied for the scheme to receive 50% of expenditure in tax credits. He also said Nigeria had a target to nearly double tax revenues this year from 2018 due to a surge of new payers following the end of an amnesty and the introduction of a new database that uses biometric data. Africa’s biggest oil producing country has sought to diversify its economy away from crude sales, but has struggled to improve non-oil revenues as debt servicing costs rise. And after Nigeria signed up to a new continent-wide free trade agreement in July, manufacturers have called for improvements to road, rail and power networks to compete with firms from across Africa. Fowler said two companies had successfully applied to receive tax credits for infrastructure projects so far. One was part of the Dangote Group conglomerate, owned by the continent’s richest man Aliko Dangote, which will build a road under the scheme. He did not name the other company. “It may reduce the amount of my collections initially, but ... as I expand my tax net, I would make up for that reduction,” said Fowler. “We believe we would generate more revenues from the additional infrastructure that would be created.” The tax credit scheme was signed into law, under an executive order, by President Muhammadu Buhari in January. Buhari was elected for a second term in February, in part due to his vow to develop the country’s poor infrastructure that has stymied development for decades. But he faces a challenge amid rising debt servicing costs. Nigeria spent 35% of government revenues servicing debt in 2016, when its economy entered a recession that it left the following year. Since then, it has taken on more local and foreign debt. Economic growth slowed to an annual rate of 1.94% in the second quarter of this year, the statistics office said on Tuesday. The non-oil sector grew 1.64% and the oil sector 5.15%, though crude prices have fallen since then. Fowler said 5.32 trillion naira ($17.39 billion) was collected in taxes in 2018 and his office was targeting 8.9 trillion naira this year. He said the increase was possible because the number of tax payers was expected to jump to around 45 million this year from 20 million in 2018. That was largely due to the inclusion of people identified in a tax amnesty that ended this year. Fowler said that change, coupled with a new database drawing on biometric data tied to bank accounts, had led to an improvement in compliance and collections in the first eight months of this year. But Fowler’s targets, which he described as “ambitious”, may be hard to meet in a country of 190 million people where around 80% of the workforce is employed in the informal sector. That has hindered tax collection in the past. Fowler, speaking at his office in the capital, Abuja, said a move to include value added tax (VAT) on all online transactions was expected to come into force in January 2020. He said e-commerce was, at present, a tax loophole. “There are a lot of areas that are not yet captured,” he said. Fowler added the current VAT rate of 5%, one of the lowest in the world, should be raised. “I believe that Nigeria should review the VAT rate to 7.5%,” he said, though any such change would have to be implemented by the government.

Source: Punch

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Dangote and other private companies are set to access 50% of expenditure in tax credit from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). According to FIRS executive chairman, Tunde Fowler, the plan is to solve infrastructural deficit in the country by reducing the actual amount of tax to be paid by private companies, while these companies also share the cost of infrastructural projects with the Government.
The details: While speaking in Abuja, Fowler stated that more than 10 local companies had applied for the scheme to receive 50% of expenditure in tax credits. He said the plan was to make sure that those companies get 50% of expenditure in tax credit.  Providing further details on the biggest benefactors from this arrangement, Fowler stated that only two companies have benefitted from the partnership of receiving tax credits for infrastructure projects thus far, Dangote Group was mentioned and another anonymous company. Alluding that the arrangement may reduce the amounts he collects, “It may reduce the amount of my collections initially, but … as I expand my tax net, I would make up for that reduction, we believe we would generate more revenues from the additional infrastructure that would be created,” he stated.  Improving Revenue: Basically, oil revenue has been depleting in recent times with high cost of debt servicing, and the government has been making moves to explore other sources to boost revenue away from crude sales. Fowler, speaking further said a move to include value added tax (VAT) on all online transactions was expected to come into force in January 2020. He said e-commerce was, at present, a tax loophole. “There are a lot of areas that are not yet captured, I believe that Nigeria should review the VAT rate to 7.5%,” he said, though any such change would have to be implemented by the government.” What this means: The tax credit scheme was signed into law, under an executive order, by President Muhammadu Buhari in January. With the arrangement, companies who agree to share the cost of infrastructural projects with the Government will not have to worry about paying 50% of cost incurred on road construction and related public goods.

Source: Nairametric 

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