From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Federal Government has revealed plans to introduce an emergency economic bill to boost its revenue from the No -oil sector in Nigeria.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, disclosed this during his presentation at the Lagos Business School (LBS) Breakfast Club recently.
The Minister said the bill was necessary to fully utilize the country’s non-oil assets, estimated to be between N80 trillion and N100 trillion, and are currently being mismanaged.
According to him, “The federal government is finalizing an Emergency Economic Bill which will, in part, enhance non-oil revenue.More specifically, the new bill will “expand tax base, improve compliance, automate excise tax; review tax exemptions and duty waivers (1% of GDP); and recalibrate incentive structure e.g. post-ante.”
“We have drafted a new tax regulation. The only reason why it hasn not been published is that some of the things we included will amend the existing laws, so we put the amendment in the emergency bill waiting for the lawmakers to pass, so we can then issue the regulation.”
Edun further noted that Nigeria can easily earn N10 trillion annually via efficient management of its non-oil assets.