President Muhammadu Buhari has on Monday 13th January 2020 in Aso Rock Abuja, signed into law, the Financial Bill 2019.
The President who revealed this on his official social media handle, said the Financial Bill 2019 which was introduced alongside the 2020 Budget, is to among other things:
-Reform Nigeria’s tax laws to align with global best practices;
-Support MSMEs in line with our Ease of Doing Business Reforms; -Incentivize investments in infrastructure and capital markets; and
-Raise Government revenues.
The Bill, which was submitted to the Joint Session of the National Assembly, along with the 2020 Appropriation Bill, last year’s, proposed amendments to various tax laws in the country.
The law is amends Petroleum Profit Tax Act, Customs and Excise Tariff Act, Company Income Tax Act, Personal Income Tax Act, Value Added Tax, Stamp Duties Act and the Capital Gains Tax.
One of the features of the new law is that those who want to open or maintain accounts with Nigeria commercial banks will not have to provide their Tax Identification Number (TIN) to do so.
The President also said that the signing of the bill will be the first time, since the return of democracy in 1999, that a Federal Budget is being accompanied by the passage of a Finance Bill specially designed to support its implementation and to create a truly enabling environment for business and investment by the private sector.
President Muhammadu Buhari in his remark after signing the bill, thanked the 9th National Assembly members for the hard work and support for making it possible, saying:
“I thank the leadership and members of the Ninth National Assembly for the hard work and support that have gone into the passage of the landmark Deep Offshore and Inland Basin PSC Amendment Bill, and the Finance Bill; both vital to the successful implementation of the 2020 Budget”.