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DESMOND MGBOH, Kano
The Nigeria Hotel Association (NHA) has appealed to the Federal Government to reconsider its plan to review Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5 percent to 7.5 percent, saying the new tax policy would undermine the hospitality industry in Nigeria.
The association also extended a similar appeal to the members of the House of Representatives, asking the lawmakers to pass a resolution for the immediate suspension of the policy.
The association, in a statement by its National President, His Highness, Igwe Patrick C Anyanwu, contested that any further review of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the country would negatively impact on the fortunes of their businesses and generally make life difficult for many Nigerians who rely on the sector to survive.
They lamented that already their industry was threatened by the twin factors of erratic power supply and a huge energy cost, which was about to drive them out of business.
The association observed that while many other sectors of the Nigerian economy, like the agriculture, have continued to enjoy different forms of government’s incentives and interventions, its members have been left to their own uncertain fate, despite the fact that they were a leading sector in employment generation and poverty alleviation in the country.
They alerted the Federal Government to the fact that some of the state governments had imposed a 5 percent Consumption Tax on hotels and other hospitality-related industries in their respective states, saying that the implications of the new Value Added Tax (VAT) rate was that hoteliers and the hospitality industry would now pay 12.5 percent in all as Value Added Tax (VAT).
The association, therefore, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the members of the Federal Executive Council, to shelve the planned increment of Value Added Tax (VAT) and consider other way to increase the national revenue base for the growth of the economy.
While applauding the Federal Government’s various efforts aimed at revamping the economy, the association declared its total support for the restoration and revival bid of the nation’s economy.
