The Finance Bill 2020 on Wednesday was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, who made this known after the FEC meeting, said the bill was designed to bring about incremental changes in the nation’s tax laws.
She however assured that the passage of the bill into law would not lead to increase in taxes in the country.
Other ministers who were at the briefing included the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire; Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola; and the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu.
Explaining features of the bill, Mrs Ahmed said the intent of the bill is to ease tax burdens on some categories of enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises.
She also pointed out that some taxes had already been reduced saying: “In the last Finance Bill 2019, we reduced taxes from 30 per cent to 20 per cent for enterprises that have turnover of between N25million to N100 million.”
Mrs Ahmed assured that the situation in the country does not warrant increase in taxes, saying: “This is not the time to increase taxes. “
The bill will soon be transmitted to the National Assembly for its consideration and passage into law.