Buhari Signs Finance Bill, Approves 7.5% VAT Increase

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Monday, signed the 2020 Finance Bill into law.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, confirmed this development in a statement in Abuja.

According to the presidential aide, this is sequel to its passage by the National Assembly and subsequent forwarding by the legislature to the President for assent.

It would be recalled that the retired general, while presenting the 2020 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, had also presented the Finance Bill.

He said,  “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;

“Others are; 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 said.

With the assent, according to Adesina, there would be more revenue to finance key government projects especially in the areas of health, education and critical infrastructure.