VAT now 7.5% as Buhari signs Finance Bill into law

 

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, signed the 2020 Finance Bill into law.

This was confirmed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in a statement in Abuja.

The presidential spokesman said the signing was sequel to the passage of the bill by the National Assembly and subsequent forwarding by the legislature to the President for assent.

President Buhari had while presenting the 2020 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly also presented the Finance Bill.

“This Finance Bill has five strategic objectives, in terms of achieving incremental, but necessary, changes to our fiscal laws.

“These objectives are; promoting fiscal equity by mitigating instances of regressive taxation; Reforming domestic tax laws to align with global best practices;

READ: 7.5% VAT: Stop increase, collapse National Assembly, reduce cost of governance

“Others are; Introducing tax incentives for investments in infrastructure and capital markets; Supporting Micro, Small and Medium-sized businesses in line with our Ease of Doing Business Reforms; and Raising Revenues for Government.

“The draft Finance Bill proposes an increase of the VAT rate from five per cent to 7.5 per cent, as such, the 2020 Appropriation Bill is based on this new VAT rate,” he told the legislators.

With the assent, according to Adesina, there would be more revenue to finance key government projects especially in the areas of health, education and critical infrastructure.