Download This PaperThe Nigerian Tax Outlook; A Critical Analysis of the Finance Act, 2020.
13 Pages Posted: 11 May 2020
Date Written: April 15, 2020
Abstract
The Finance Bill was passed into law in January 2019 as a fiscal support measure for the 2020 budget. The Bill is supposed to effect measures that would radically revamp the Nigerian economy as well as provide a fiscal means for offsetting the deficit in the 2020 budget as presented by the H.E President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate. The Finance Act brought several developments to the Nigerian tax regime with the amendment of the various tax legislation in Nigeria. The Act amended the Companies Income Tax Act, Personal Income Tax Act, Value Added Tax Act, Capital Gains Tax Act and the Stamp Duties Act. One of the most populous innovations brought by the Act is the increase in the Value Added Tax rate from 5% to 7.5%. The Act provides for incentives especially for SMEs and companies in real estate investment, especially for CIS. The Act is a step in the right direction towards the decentralisation of the Nigerian economy which over the years has been tied to oil. In this paper, the author seeks to explore the innovations made by the Act and their precursors. The author thus wishes to enlighten his readers on what exactly the Finance Act is all about and how they can benefit from the goodies that came with it.
Keywords: Finance, Tax, Economy, Companies Income Tax, Personal Income Tax, Value Added Tax, CIS, SMEs
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