Ex-ANAN president advises FG against implementing new tax rates

Former president of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Dr Samuel Nzekwe, on Friday advised the Federal Government to suspend implementation of proposed excise taxes.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at Ota, Ogun, Nzekwe said the proposed taxes by might affect the economy adversely.

“The Federal Government needs to be cautious in imposing the proposed taxes as Nigerians and companies are still battling with the effects of CBN’s redesign of the Naira and the cashless policy.

“This is not a good time to implement the policy because it can lead to a rise in unemployment rate, diminish the purchasing power of the people and slow down the GDP,’’ he said.

He noted that Nigeria and Nigerians were still counting the socio-economic losses they suffered when the CBN began the implementation of the cashless policy.

Nzekwe explained that the naira had been devalued so much and that the imposition of additional taxes on goods and services would have negative impacts.

He argued also that inflationary effect was already taking its toll on the cost of importation of raw materials.

According to him, manufacturing costs usually go high from the point of importation of raw materials always affected by exchange rate of the dollar.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, stated recently that the Federal Government was looking at implementing new tax rates across different sectors including telecommunication and beverages.