on Sunday expressed concerns over the passage of the 2022 Finance Bill by the National Assembly.
The bill amends several laws including the Capital Gains Tax Act, Companies Income Tax Act, Personal Income Tax Act, Petroleum Profits Tax Act, as well as Stamp Duties Act, Value Added Tax, and Public Procurement Act. “The House of Representatives gave a more generous notice of about three weeks. But in a sudden and baffling twist of events, the House passed the bill before the date of the advertised public hearing which was 13th January 2023. The bill has since been forwarded to the President for assent. This haste is incomprehensible.”The statement said that it is regrettable that the National Assembly hurriedly passed the bill without the benefit of input from citizens whom they were elected to represent.
“What the National Assembly has done is tantamount to disrespect, disregard and contempt of the Nigerian people and the business community.” Meanwhile, it added, companies currently pay multitude of taxes, fees, levies to state governments, local governments and regulatory agencies.