BUSINESS DAY
The federal government, through the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms has announced plans to remove taxes on food, house rents, public transportation services in the country.
Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the committee disclosed this during an interview on channels television. According to him, the policy is aimed to make basic necessities affordable to Nigerians.
“What we found was that the VAT, not just the tax system, even the VAT system was placing too much burden on the poorest people. For example, you had food items. Some of them were exempt.
“And without sounding technical, when you say an item is exempt from VAT, it means that any VAT you incur before the final stage, you have to bear it. Whereas if you say it’s zero rated, all VAT from the beginning of that process to the end is taken out. So we’ve decided that food should not just be exempt, it should be zero rated.
“What we have taken into account is what are those basic necessities of life—food, accommodations, that is if you do not have a house of your own, transportation, education and health. We’ve deliberately identified those items. And we’ve removed completely, almost all the taxes applicable to them, including no VAT.
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