President Muhammadu Buhari-led government on Monday vowed to improve revenue generation and enhance economic competitiveness in Nigeria.
The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, stated this while speaking at the Executive Roundtable on the Finance Act 2020 and Economic Outlook for 2021 organised by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Ahmed in her statement said, “The Federal Government of Nigeria will continue to champion economic policies aimed at improving revenue generation, enhancing economic competitiveness, encouraging domestic investors and enhancing macroeconomic stability despite the significant challenges posed by COVID-19.”
“This administration is committed to stimulating economic growth by fostering economic resilience in our business communities and the broader economy in line with the thematic thrust of the 2021 budget.”
“I want to also add that the Federal Government is forging stronger collaboration with the subnational government, state government as well as the local government.”
Chief Economist and PwC partner, Dr Andrew Nevin, called on the Federal Government to leverage on exporting services to the world.
He said Nigeria had a populace of intellectuals earning foreign exchange which should be leveraged on.
He said, “Nigeria exports brains and we are earning significantly from it around the world and that is the asset we need to optimise.”
“The interesting thing is that we can export brains from Nigeria without people leaving Nigeria. In fact, if you think about Nigeria’s unique conditions, our ability to export is not manufactured goods.”
PwC Tax Leader, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, who spoke on the import levy on cars said that the total tariff to be paid on imported cars was 40 per cent as against five per cent that has been in the public domain.
He said, “This is really important to clarify. For new cars, it is only the levy that has been reduced from 35 to five per cent. The import duty of 35 per cent is still available on new and used cars which means for a new car, the total tariff you pay on import is 40 per cent.”
Oyedele explained that 40 per cent levy was still high enough to encourage people to buy locally.