Steve Agbota

Tax experts have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure signing of the new Finance Act into law every year in order to ensure that the provisions of the tax laws are consistent with the National tax policy objectives of the government.

However, the tax experts also expressed misgivings on the workability of exempting companies with less than N25 million turnover from the Value Added Tax (VAT).

Speaking at the breakfast meeting organised by Ascension Consulting Serivces (ACS) in collaboration with Explorer Legal Practitioners and TESB Management Consultants Thursday in Lagos, a tax lecturer at the University of Lagos, Professor Abiola Sanni, said, “we have seen Finance Act after 20 years. But it is not sufficient to say that because we have it in 2020, we will always have it.”

However, he pointed that the need to emphasised to all the stakeholders including Mr President that it has obligation to speedily sign the Finance Act into law every year, which is very important.

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Accorsing to him, looking at the some of the success of interventions  Nigeria recorded, they are not sufficient for the kind of reforms people like tax practitioners are looking for because Finance Act should actually be built on the national tax policy.

He added: “So national tax policy envisages a far reaching reform where we have few taxes at even lesser rate. Where we have broad day  taxes, at the end of the day, we may not have up to three to four taxes in Nigeria. So I look forward to such quantum leap in our tax reform in Nigeria.”

Also speaking at the event,  A Senior Partner at ACS,  Azeez Alatoye, said that the essence of the bringing the experts together in the tax sector was to review the Finance Act 2019 with the hope of bringing the highlights to all their clients and to Nigerians generally.

He added: “We also want to look at the incentives that are in the Act, as well as incentives that withdrawn, what are likely going to be the impact on businesses and on the lifestyle of Nigerians generally. We want to look at the winners and possibly some of the losers in terms of this Finance Act.

“We are trying to look areas that requires amendment going forward for the purposes of the Finance Act 2020 to the extent that going forward now, this is going to be an annual as Government as promised. We are very happy with this, because if we have any issues with any sections of the law, then we can draw the attention of the lawmakers to it and then the law can then be reviewed.”