Economy

Fowler Denies Calling for 50% Increase in VAT

Published

6 years ago

21/03/2019

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Babatunde Fowler, has refuted reports in the media that he called for an increase in the rate charged for Value Added Tax (VAT) by 50 percent.

The tax chief was quoted as informing the Senate Committee on Finance on Tuesday that there would be a hike in the VAT rate before the end of this year.

But in a statement on Wednesday, Mr Fowler said nothing of such ever came out of his mouth, but instead, he supported reduction in the Companies Income Tax (CIT) rate for small businesses operating in the country.

FIRS said in the statement that though the Executive Chairman “indicated that there should be an increase in VAT rate by the end of the year, he NEVER, for once suggested a 50 percent hike of any percentage increase at all.”

“Rather, he promised improved collection in CIT, Petroleum Profits Tax, PPT and VAT in 2019 relative to the collection performance of the Service in 2018.”

In 2018, FIRS collected the sum of N1.1 trillion in VAT N1.42 trillion in Companies Income Tax (CIT) and N2.4 trillion in Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT).

But in a transcript of Mr Fowler’s meeting with the Senate Committee released by FIRS, when asked if he would support an increase in VAT, responded that, “In terms of VAT, the service has increased VAT collection over the last three years by over 25 percent.

“In terms of whether there should be an increase. I believe there should be an increase.

“One issue about taxation is that it should be fair to all. We have discovered after the VAIDS (Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme) that a high percentage of businesses are collecting VAT and not remitting. We’ve also tried to address this issue.

“We’ve issued new VAT certificates. We have appealed to the public that if they are charged VAT and they are not sure it had been remitted they should contact us. We even gave a small promotion that for every 25 names, that they give to us, we give them a little gift either a power bank or something to show appreciation.

“But that aside, we are also on the streets. We have a team called FEETT, Federal Engagement and Enlightenment Tax Teams, going around to confirm that they (businesses) are registered for VAT. And I believe with the substitution of over 50,000 bank accounts that we just started this week, I am sure that those businesses that have been collecting VAT and not remitting the same or not remitting any tax payment, are beginning to ensure that the level of tax compliance thus improve. And I believe that by the end of this year, government and Nigerian people should be ready for an increase in VAT.

“A lot of Nigerians travel to Ghana and other West African countries and they can see that the VAT is much higher and they pay when they go for those trips. I’m sure that as the economy improves and as we continue to let them know that there will be an increase in VAT and they should be ready for it.

“In terms of the challenge of N3 trillion, it is very challenging. But I can certainly see an increase in VAT of at least 35 to 50 percent this year, based on the enforcement activities. There will certainly be an increase in CIT (Companies Income Tax and also on PPT (Petroleum Profits Tax),

“Like I said earlier on, we have received directives that we can now hook on to some government agencies to make sure that the taxes especially in the oil sector, and also the Legacy Debts… that we should come up with an agreement so that the debts are paid over a 10-year period.

“And I am sure with the arrears and the current taxes, we will certainly give the N3 trillion the best of our abilities.”

Economy

Aradel Holdings Acquires Equity Stake in Chappal Energies

Published

3 hours ago

11/12/2024

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

A minority equity stake in Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited has been acquired by a Nigerian energy firm, Aradel Holdings Plc.

This deal came a few days after Chappal Energies purchased a 53.85 per cent equity stake in Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited (ENEC).

Chappal Energies went into the deal with Equinor to take part in the oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitised 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron.

Since production started in 2008, the Agbami field has produced more than one billion barrels of oil, creating value for Nigerian society and various stakeholders.

As part of the deal, Chappal will assume the operatorship of OML 129, which includes several significant prospects and undeveloped discoveries (Nnwa, Bilah and Sehki).

The Nnwa discovery is part of the giant Nnwa-Doro field, a major gas resource with significant potential to deliver value for Nigeria.

In a separate transaction, on July 17, 2024, Chappal and Total Energies sealed an SPA for the acquisition by Chappal of 10 per cent of the SPDC JV.

The relevant parties to this transaction are working towards closing out this transaction and Ministerial Approval and NNPC consent to accede to the Joint Operating Agreement have been obtained.

“This acquisition is in line with diversifying our asset base, deepening our gas competencies and gaining access to offshore basins using low-risk approaches.

“We recognise the strategic role of gas in Nigeria’s energy future and are happy to expand our equity holding in this critical resource.

“We are committed to the cause of developing the significant value inherent in the assets, which will be extremely beneficial to the country.

“Aradel hopes to bring its proven execution competencies to bear in supporting Chappal’s development of these opportunities,” the chief executive of Aradel Holdings, Mr Adegbite Falade, stated.

Economy

Afriland Properties Lifts NASD OTC Securities Exchange by 0.04%

Published

6 hours ago

11/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Afriland Properties Plc helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange record a 0.04 per cent gain on Tuesday, December 10 as the share price of the property investment rose by 34 Kobo to N16.94 per unit from the preceding day’s N16.60 per unit.

As a result of this, the market capitalisation of the bourse went up by N380 million to remain relatively unchanged at N1.056 trillion like the previous trading day.

But the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closed higher at 3,014.36 points after it recorded an addition of 1.09 points to Monday’s closing value of 3,013.27 points.

The NASD OTC securities exchange recorded a price loser and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which went down by 2 Kobo to close at N3.93 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N3.95 per share.

During the trading session, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 95.8 per cent to 2.4 million units from the 1.2 million securities traded in the preceding session.

However, the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 3.7 per cent to N4.9 million from the N5.07 million recorded a day earlier, as the number of deals surged by 27.3 per cent to 14 deals from 11 deals.

Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 million.

Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Trades N1,542/$1 as FX Speculators Dump Dollars in Panic

Published

7 hours ago

11/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira continued to appreciate on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), gaining 0.7 per cent or N10.23 on Tuesday, December 10 to trade at N1,542.27/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,552.50/$1.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform introduced to tackle speculation and improve transparency in Nigeria’s FX market has been attributed as the source of the Naira’s appreciation.

Speculators holding foreign currencies, particularly the US Dollar, have seen the value of their money drastically drop due to the appreciation of the local currency. This is forcing them to dump greenback into the system and take the domestic currency alternative- a move that has seen available FX increase.

Equally, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day by N6.81 to sell for N1,955.12/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,961.93/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N10.84 to close at N1,613.00/€1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,623.84/€1.

Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions significantly increased yesterday by $228.85 million or 257.2 per cent to $401.17 million from the preceding session’s $112.32 million.

However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency weakened against the US Dollar on Tuesday by N5 to settle at N1,625/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,620/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 4.8 per cent to sell at $0.39116, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 3.3 per cent to trade at $110.25, Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 2.3 per cent to $681.44, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 1.6 per cent to finish at $3,671.08, and Cardano (ADA) slid by 0.5 per cent to $0.8837

Conversely, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 5.4 per cent to $2.23 amid a continued shift for the coin with its parent company seeing the benefits of a crypto-friendly regulatory environment for US-based companies.

XRP is closely related to Ripple Labs, a high-profile payments company targeted by the SEC in 2020 on allegations of selling the token as a security to U.S. investors. Ripple fully cleared a long-drawn court case in 2024.

Further, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.8 per cent to $219.75, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 0.4 per cent to $97,446.95, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.