Senate Passed Finance Bill, Nigerians to Start Paying 7.5% VAT

• Senate Passed Finance Bill, Nigerians to Start Paying 7.5% VAT

The Senate has finally passed the Finance Bill seeking to increase Value Added Tax by 2.5 percent to 7.5 percent.

The bill also seeks to amend other tax-related Acts and exempt certain industries from paying taxes.

Senators Ifeanyi Ubah, Gabriel Suswan, the Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, and Abba Moro, objected to the bill.

The lawmakers said the increase would worsen the financial burdens of the Nigerian people.

The Federal Executive Council had approved the increment ahead of 2020 proposed budget, saying the increase would help federal government revenue generation for the 2020 appropriation bill.

Despite some lawmakers arguing that the Finance Bill should have been submitted for approval prior to the proposed 2020 budget, they still went on to pass the bill as they said the success of the 2020 budget is tied to the bill.