By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday signed the Finance Bill 2019 into law after assenting to the document, which was created to help the country increase its revenue.
In a message via his verified Twitter page this afternoon, President Buhari said he said the bill into law in the morning, thanking members of the National Assembly for passing it into law last month.
The President said the Finance Bill will create a truly enabling environment for business and investment by the private sector because it covers almost all their concerns.
“I am pleased to announce that this morning I signed into Law the Finance Bill, 2019,” Mr Buhari said in one of his tweets on Monday.
“We introduced the bill alongside the 2020 Budget to reform Nigeria’s tax laws to align with global best practices; support MSMEs in line with our Ease of Doing Business Reforms; incentivize investments in infrastructure and capital markets; and raise government revenues,” he stated.
He said further that, “This is the first time, since the return of democracy in 1999, that a federal budget is being accompanied by passage of a Finance Bill specially designed to support its implementation, and to create a truly enabling environment for business and investment by the private sector.”
“I thank the leadership and members of the Ninth National Assembly for the hard work and support that have gone into the passage of the landmark Deep Offshore and Inland Basin PSC Amendment Bill, and the Finance Bill; both vital to the successful implementation of the 2020 Budget,” Mr Buhari concluded.
One of the main issues that raised dusts in the Finance Bill was the increase in the value added tax (VAT) to 7.5 percent from 5 percent. Also, government exempted companies with a total annual revenue of below N25 million from paying company income tax, which is usually charged at 30 percent.
Adedapo Adesanya