The President, Muhammadu Buhari has transmitted the Finance Bill, 2020 to the National Assembly for consideration and passage into law.
In his letter which was read in the Senate and House of Representatives at the plenary session of Tuesday, 1 December 2020, the President explained that the Finance Bill, 2020 seeks to support the implementation of the 2021 Budget by proposing key reforms specific to taxation, customs and excise, fiscal policies and other laws.
According to the President’s letter, the provisions of the proposed Bill are aimed at:
- Adopting appropriate counter-cynical fiscal policies to respond to the economic and revenue challenges precipitated by the decline in international oil prices, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigeria economy;
- Reforming extant fiscal policies to prioritize job creation, economic growth, socio-economic development, domestic revenue mobilization as well as to foster closer coordination with monetary and trade policies;
- Providing fiscal relief for taxpayers by reducing the applicable minimum tax rate for 2 consecutive years of assessment, as well as reforming the commencement and cessation rules for small businesses;
- Proposing measures to fund the Federal Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and introduce provisions to enhance the recovery of corporate donations towards the pandemic, as well as similar crises which may likely arise in the future;
- Amending certain aspects of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 to align with the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as to enhance fiscal efficiencies by controlling the cost-to-revenue ratios of key State and Government Owned Enterprises (GOE); and
- Amending the Public Procurement Act, 2007 to implement key procurement reforms previously proposed by the National Assembly in 2019 that sought to extend the scope of the Act to the Federal Judiciary and Legislature; accelerate procurement processes, increase mobilization fee thresholds and to provide essential procurement reforms.
