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Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Dike Onwuamaeze in Lagos
Some members of the organised private sector (OPS) have advised state governors to eliminate multiple taxations and introduce measures to further improve Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) in order to attract investors and promote economic growth.
This is coming as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said Nigeria has faced severe economic downturns, hence the need to widen the tax net so that more people who are eligible to pay tax can pay.
The advice by the OPS followed the recent EoDB report released by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), which ranked Gombe State number one among the 36 states with an overall average score of 7.69 out of a maximum score of 10.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has stated that the Federal Government plans to widen its tax bracket by collecting taxes from foreign tech companies with operations in Nigeria, which include the likes of Facebook, Google, and many others.
The Vice President disclosed this over the weekend at a meeting with the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) President, Mr Adesina Adedayo, at the Presidential Villa.
What the Vice President said
“While the Federal Government will not be raising tax rates at this time, based on the Finance Act 2019, it is already empowered to widen the tax net.
This includes collecting taxes on the Nigerian income of global tech giants with significant economic presence here, even if they have not established an office or permanent establishment, and are currently not paying taxes in Nigeria.
• Explains provisions in Finance Act
The Federal Government is set to utilise legal provisions empowering it to collect taxes on profits made by global technology and digital firms not based in Nigeria, but having significant economic presence in the country.
It said while the Federal Government will not be raising tax rates at this time, based on the Finance Act 2019, it is already empowered to widen the tax net.
This, the FG said, includes taxes on the Nigerian income of global giants with significant economic presence, even if they have not set up presence or permanent establishment and are currently not paying taxes in the country.
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