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…Says regulatory, standardization, finance issues stifling exportation
From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has said that to truly transform the country’s economy, there should be absolute reversal of key tax measures and not just postponement.
President Bola Tinubu recently signed four Executive Orders, which include the suspension of the five per cent Excise Tax on telecommunication services as well as the Excise Duty escalation on locally manufactured products.
The President also suspended the 2023 Finance Act 2023 deferring the date of its commencement from 28th May, 2023 to 1st of September, 2023.
Speaking to Journalists at the Nigeria Employer’s Summiy 2023, in Abuja on Monday, NECA Director General, Mr Adewale Oyerinde said the taxes have the potential to deep organized businesses deeper into the hole of extinction.
Oyerinde said: “We don’t need suspension, we need absolute reversal. We say if you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is to stop digging. Those taxes have the potential to deep organized businesses deeper into the hole of extinction. So, what the executive orders have done and what we are happy about is that it has stopped that trajectory into extinction momentorily and it has given us the opportunity for engagement also. So, between now and September and the time when those extensions are given is for us to engage constructively and let government see the risks inherent in those taxes.
Hopefully, the President will see our reasons and will call for a holistic reform.
He noted that, “If you want to tax, you must take care of three elements. First is what to tax. (What exactly do you want to tax) When do you want to tax and you must balance how do you want to tax. How much do you want tax? If you don’t deal with those three issues, you will initiate taxes and generate revenue from one part and you will be destroying your industry from other parts.”
The DG further explained that the summit was geared towards finding ways of addressing the challenges affecting economic activities such as non-oil exportation.
