Economy
Lagos Grants 20% Tax Credit to COVID-19 Donors
By Dipo Olowookere
The Lagos State government has announced a 20 per cent tax credit to those who donated cash and various items to support residents in the ongoing COVID-19 period.
The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) in a statement on Tuesday said this was to show appreciation to those who stood solidly behind the state government in the time of need.
“In appreciation of taxpayers that have supported the state government in the fight against the pandemic, the LIRS, through the Lagos State government, will be granting tax credit of 20 per cent of all cash and kind donations made towards COVID-19 by individuals resident in the state for the 2021 year of assessment (subject to a cap of 35 per cent of tax due),” the Executive Chairman of LIRS, Mr Ayodele Subair, was quoted as saying in the statement.
The agency noted that this was one of the additional tax incentives and reliefs it was implementing to support taxpayers in the metropolis.
According to the tax-collecting agency, the incentives are in furtherance of the commitment to mitigate the negative effect of COVID-19 pandemic on individuals and businesses starting from Thursday, July 16, 2020.
It noted that the additional measures and incentives are a sequel to the agency’s initial 3-month extension of the deadline for filing of annual returns (from March 31 to June 30, 2020).
“The following measures are to be implemented to further ease the impact of the pandemic on our esteemed taxpayers in Lagos state: LIRS shall allow on a case by case basis, payment of outstanding liabilities in instalments to ease cash flow challenges that may affect taxpayers.
“Taxpayers are to enjoy a waiver of penalty for late payment of liabilities under PAYE (Pay As You Earn) that was due during the period of March-May, 2020 when the State was under COVID-19 lockdown.
“In addition, a waiver of penalties due on late filing of 2020 annual tax returns known as ‘Form A’ will be granted.
“A remarkable waiver of interest and penalty on liabilities arising from 2009 to 2015 tax audit for taxpayers who can pay up on or before December 31, 2020, will be implemented,” the Chairman said.
He further announced that additional payment channels have been opened up to make payment of taxes easier, simpler and more convenient for all.
Mr Subair declared that video conferencing has been adopted as the default mode for conducting Tax Audit Reconciliation Committee (TARC) meetings in consonance with social distancing advisories from government and other relevant health authorities.
He encouraged taxpayers to make use of the agency’s digital communication platforms to get updates on its operations and details of all tax payment platforms.
Also, he enjoined all businesses and individuals resident in Lagos State to take advantage of these additional palliatives and reciprocate the kind gestures of the state government by discharging their civic responsibilities through prompt payment of all taxes and levies due to the State.
The LIRS urged the Lagos State residents to stay safe and obey all COVID-19 guidelines as stipulated by the relevant health authorities and Lagos State government.
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of the week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a positive note, as it rallied by 0.08 per cent on Friday.
This was buoyed by strong investor sentiment due to renewed buying pressure, which left 35 stocks on the gainers’ chart, as 33 stocks ended on the losers’ log, indicating a positive market breadth index.
According to data, Eterna gained 10.00 per cent to close at N42.35, Union Dicon appreciated by 9.70 per cent to N16.40, John Holt grew by 9.25 per cent to N9.45, Tantalizers rose by 8.41 per cent to N4.64, and Fidson expanded by 7.27 per cent to N88.50.
Conversely, RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to finish at N12.06, SCOA Nigeria retreated by 9.96 per cent to N34.35, ABC Transport receded by 9.96 per cent to N6.25, Mecure crashed by 9.96 per cent to N61.50, and Berger Paints declined by 9.93 per cent to N66.65.
Business Post observed that the industrial goods space appreciated by 1.20 per cent yesterday, while the energy index improved by 0.19 per cent.
However, the insurance counter fell by 0.61 per cent, the consumer goods segment shed 0.56 per cent, and the banking industry depreciated by 0.11 per cent.
The All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 161.00 points on Friday to 196,968.15 points from 196,807.15 points on Thursday, while the market capitalisation went down by N119 billion to N126.437 trillion from N126.318 trillion.
A total of 586.2 million units of shares worth N30.6 billion were transacted in 62,699 deals during the trading day versus the 634.0 million shares valued at N29.1 billion traded in 66,286 deals a day earlier, showing a jump in the trading value by 5.16 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 7.54 per cent and 5.41 per cent, respectively.
The activity chart was led by First Holdco with 43.9 million units worth N2.3 billion, Access Holdings exchange 43.2 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 40.0 million units for N3.7 billion, GTCO sold 38.9 million units worth N4.6 billion, and Jaiz Bank traded 31.5 million units valued at N323.4 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange went up by 0.22 per cent on Friday, March 6, as a result of the rise in the share prices of five securities on the platform.
During the session, the market capitalisation of the bourse added N5.60 billion to close at N2.519 trillion versus the preceding session’s N2.513 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) appreciated by 9.35 points to 4,256.41 points from 4,256.41 points.
The five price gainers were led by 11 Plc, which gained N29.02 to close at N319.25 per unit versus Thursday’s closing value of N290.23 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.19 to N81.35 per share from N80.16 per share, Nipco Plc increased by N1.00 to N285.00 per unit from N284.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc rose by 72 Kobo to N125.20 per share from N124.48 per share, and UBN Property Plc improved by 19 Kobo to N2.17 per unit from N1.98 per unit.
On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc lost N20.00 to settle at N230.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N250.00 per share, NASD Plc declined by N5.21 to N51.00 per unit from N56.21 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc declined by 21 Kobo to N1.90 per share from N2.11 per share.
The volume of securities traded by market participants went down by 10.6 per cent yesterday to 3.4 million units from 3.8 million units, and the value of securities dropped 85.3 per cent to close at N62.4 million versus N423.3 million, while the number of deals jumped 4.8 per cent to 44 deals from 42 deals.
CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 37.2 million units valued at N2.3 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units worth N1.1 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 3.4 million units sold for N506.8 million.
Resourcery Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units traded for N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 123.1 million units transacted for N481.6 million, and CSCS Plc with 37.2 million units worth N2.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
For another week, the Naira closed without recording a gain against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), as FX demand pressure continues to mount.
On Friday, the country’s legal tender further depreciated against the greenback by N5.82 or 0.42 per cent to trade at N1,393.26/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,387.45/$1.
Also, the local currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market segment yesterday by N7.61 to close at N1,859.99/£1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,852.38/£1, and crashed against the Euro by N1.58 to settle at N1,611.49/€1, in contrast to the N1,609.86/€1 it was traded a day earlier.
In the same vein, the Naira declined against the Dollar at the GTBank forex desk by N12 during the session to quote at N1,410/$1 versus the previous session’s rate of N1,398/$1, and at the parallel market, it lost N10 to sell for N1,415/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,405/$1.
The domestic currency continued its decline despite $300 million in FX intervention sales to banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), indicating that the rising demand for foreign payments is outpacing supply. However, worries have heightened as the Naira is entering a threshold that has not previously created panic.
In the international market, the US Dollar held broadly steady and saw its steepest weekly gain in more than a year as the escalating conflict in the Middle East drove demand for safe-haven assets. This creates pressure on other currencies.
This also affected the cryptocurrency market. As tensions escalated in the Middle East last week, investors moved quickly to the safety of the US Dollar, which strengthened as markets began pricing in higher energy prices and reignited inflation fears, potentially delaying Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 4.9 per cent to $1,975.54, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 4.8 per cent to $84.08, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 4.3 per cent to sell for $67,725.27, Cardano (ADA) slumped 4.2 per cent to $0.2527, and Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.4 per cent to $53.55.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 3.2 per cent to $0.0906, Binance Coin (BNB) slipped 2.9 per cent to $626.32, and Ripple (XRP) went down by 2.6 per cent to $1.36, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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