President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed four Executive Orders to reform the tax system in Nigeria and ease the burden on businesses and consumers.
The orders, which were announced on Thursday by his Special Adviser, Dele Alake, include the suspension of the five percent excise tax on telecommunication services and the excise duties escalation on locally manufactured products, which were introduced by his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.
The orders also include the suspension of the green tax on single-use plastics, such as plastic containers and bottles, and the import tax adjustment levy on certain vehicles. These taxes were considered to be arbitrary and harmful to the environment and the economy.
Alake said that the President issued these orders after listening to the complaints and feedback from various stakeholders, who expressed their concerns about the negative impacts of the tax changes on their sectors. He said that the President was committed to creating a business-friendly environment and would not exacerbate the plight of Nigerians.
He also said that the orders have deferred the commencement date of some of the tax changes contained in the Finance Act and the Customs, Excise Tariff Act from May and March 2023 respectively to September and August 2023 respectively. He said that this was to ensure adherence to the 90 days minimum advance notice for tax changes as contained in the 2017 National Tax Policy.
