Joseph Bakare
The Finance Bill 2020 has scaled through after third reading on the floor of the Senate.
The development came after consideration of a report by the Senate Joint Committee on Finance, Customs, Excise and Tariff, Trade and Investment and Public Procurement.
Chairman of the joint panel, Olamilekan Solomon Adeola (APC – Lagos West), in his presentation, said the Bill specifically sought to amend 17 key areas.
They are: Capital Gains Act; Companies Income Tax Act; Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) Act; Personal Income Tax Act; Tertiary Trust Fund Act; Customs and Excise Duties Tariff; Value Added Tax Act; Stamp Duties Act; and Electronic Transaction Levy.
Other areas are: Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act; Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority Act; Oil and Gas Export Processing Zone Act; Crisis Intervention Fund; Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund; Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020; Fiscal Responsibility Act and Public Procurement Act.
President Muhammadu Buhari, in a letter dated 25th November, 2020, which accompanied the bill during transmission, said its passage would support the implementation of the 2021 budget through key reforms to specific taxation, customs, excise, fiscal and other laws.
According to him, the proposed amendment to the bill seeks to, among others, “Adopt appropriate counter-cyclical fiscal policies to respond to the economic and revenue challenges precipitated by the decline in international oil prices, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian economy; and reform extant fiscal policies to prioritize job creation, economic growth, socio-economic development, domestic revenue mobilization, as well as to foster closer coordination with monetary and trade policies.
Equally, the Bill for an Act to Establish the Nigerian Peace Corps scaled second reading in the Senate.
The Bill which was read the first time in the 9th Senate in December 17, 2019, is being sponsored by former Senate Leader and Chairman, Committee on Army, Ali Ndume.