By Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in Abuja signed the 2020 Finance Bill into law.
The president’s media adviser, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a statement, recalled that Buhari, while presenting the 2020 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly late last year, made the presentation along with the Finance Bill.
According to Adesina, the president told the National Assembly that the 2020 budget which comprised five objectives, was also made up of the draft Finance Bill.
The draft Finance Bill, according to the statement, consisted of 7.5 per cent increase in VAT rate from the hitherto five per cent rate.
He recalled the president’s remarks as: “This Finance Bill has five strategic objectives, in terms of achieving incremental, but necessary, changes to our fiscal laws.
“These objectives are; Promoting fiscal equity by mitigating instances of regressive taxation; Reforming domestic tax laws to align with global best practices; Introducing tax incentives for investments in infrastructure and capital markets; Supporting Micro, Small and Medium-sized businesses in line with our Ease of Doing Business Reforms; and Raising Revenues for Government.
“The draft Finance Bill proposes an increase of the VAT rate from five per cent to 7.5 per cent , as such, the 2020 Appropriation Bill is based on this new VAT rate,” he added.
Adesina added that with the president’s assent to the bill, there would be more revenue to finance key government projects especially in the areas of health, education and critical infrastructure.
