Senate President, Bukola Saraki has said that the Senate would make the matter of Nigeria’s multiple taxation laws on businesses a main issue to address in the 2017 Appropriation Bill. He made this known at a question-and-answer segment of the Nigerian Economic Summit. Saraki said focus should rather be placed on improving Nigeria’s revenue generating systems without burdening Nigerian businesses.
“What we need to do is to improve our corporate taxation system,” he said, “The Senate will be examining the different options for achieving this in the 2017 budget cycle so that we can strengthen the tax value chain. We will also review other areas like the customs duties.”
Speaking on related issues, Saraki said that the Senate believes that patronising Made in Nigeria goods remains the cure to the economic crisis in the country. He said that this would act as a double edged sword, increasing internally generated revenue and reducing the country’s dependence on foreign exchange.
The Senate was so committed to ensuring that the economy revives that it had accelerated passage of over 40 priority bills recommended by the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER).
In addition, Guardian Newspaper reports that Saraki said the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would be broken into different sections for easier passage, which in turn would allow Nigeria to generate more revenue from oil and ensure it comes out of the economic recession quickly.