Economy
Stakeholders to Discuss Stronger Tax Regimes in Abuja
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has been scheduled to declare open the 3rd International Conference on Tax in Africa (ICTA) taking place in Abuja from September 25 to 29, 2017.
During the flagship conference of the African Tax Administration Forum, stakeholders will discuss stronger tax regimes under the theme ‘Building Strong Domestic Tax Regimes in Africa: Strengthening VAT, PIT and CIT.’
The conference program is designed along expert panel discussion sessions and presentations. The ICTA 2017 will look at the technical challenges, successes and good practice in the administration of VAT in Africa; enhancing performance of PIT through broadening the tax base, sanitising the taxpayer register and improved taxpayer experience with regard to managing compliance; and dealing with complexities of CIT taking into account the filing of corporate tax returns, enhanced customer service delivery, corporate structures vis-à-vis tax planning, tax audits and investigation.
This year’s ICTA is expecting delegates and panellists well beyond its 38-member countries including from other revenue authorities and organisations such as the African Development Bank, the World Bank, OECD, International Tax Compact, GIZ, Tax Justice Network – Africa, ECOWAS and CREDAF.
The programme will also celebrate and recognise the six African experts selected to serve on the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters.
Five of the six members come from ATAF member countries and two of these are on the ATAF council. These include Mr William Tunde Fowler (Nigeria), the Chairperson of ATAF’s Council and Mrs Elfrieda Stewart Tamba (Liberia).
A statement issued by ICTA said to end poverty and hunger by 2030, the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are premised on strategies that build economic growth to address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection. Tax revenue, is therefore viewed as the main enabler for achieving these goals.
The African Union, for its part, has set Agenda 2063 to build “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in international arena.”
To fulfil this vision, Agenda 2063 talks of the need for inclusive growth and sustainable development as well as good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law. To bring this agenda into fruition, domestic resource mobilisation takes a central role, as donor fatigue is now only too evident.
African countries are signatories to both these ambitious milestones. For ATAF, continent meeting both these agendas will, largely hinge on effective domestic resource mobilisation (DRM) or strengthening domestic tax regimes in every African country. In light of this, both the Forum’s Council as well as its General Assembly have given the directive for a strong focus on domestic taxes, hence the theme for ICTA 2017.
The Conference is focusing on specific domestic taxes including VAT, Personal Income Tax (PIT) and Corporate Income Tax (CIT) due to their potential contribution and the underlying risks that are likely to undermine the revenue take.
Value Added Tax (VAT) is administered in 44 of the 54 African countries and is seen as the tax of the future as it has a broad base and therefore, needs review of processes for effectiveness and efficiency in its administrations.
Corporate Income Tax (CIT) is in the spotlight as more manufacturing industries take root in the continent. Similarly, there is a growing service sector constituting the financial, telecommunication and real estate.
Personal Income Tax derived from individuals such as employee PAYE, other withholding tax schemes and High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) are also key contributors to domestic revenue.
These tax heads have a quicker turn-around time if well administered in terms of taxpayer registration, return filing and payment, audits, collections, refunds and dispute resolution and can readily contribute to financing recurrent budgets of the African continent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.
This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.
It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.
MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.
GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.
Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.
Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.
This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.
The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.
Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.
Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.
Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.
Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.
On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.
The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.
Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.
Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.
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