Fiscal commission endorses new national tax policy

The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has declared support for the new National Tax Policy announced recently by the Federal Government.

RMAFC’s Head of Public Relations, Ibrahim Mohammed, who made this known in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said the new policy would shore up Nigeria’s dwindling revenue base, which suffered a decline as a result of dwindling oil prices at the international market.

The commission said the development was worsened by the activities of militants and vandals in the Niger Delta region.Mohammed stressed that globally, taxation was seen as the most stable source of government revenue for economic development. He added that the upward review of the existing Value Added Tax (VAT) rate on luxury items as contained in the document had buttressed the commission’s position.

According to Mohammed, it would also make more funds available for government to expand the economy, ensure rapid economic development and create employment.

He recalled that the commission’s acting chairman, Shettima Abba Gana, had in July 2016, canvassed for the upward review of VAT from five to 7.5 per cent.

Mohammed said the move aimed at improving the country’s revenue base, adding that VAT was a high revenue-yielding instrument that could be used to shore-up government purse for the financing of the ever-expanding public expenditure needs of all tiers of government.