Business
Tax Waivers: ‘Nigeria, Ghana, Others Lose $9.6bn Annually’
Nigeria, Ghana and two
other West African countries lose an average of 9.6 billion dollars as revenues yearly through corporate tax incentives and waivers, a new report by Actionaid and Tax Justice Network Africa has stated.
The report, tagged “The West African Giveaway: Use and abuse of corporate tax incentive in ECOWAS,” was compiled by the two Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
The report examined corporate tax incentives and their impact over the years in the economics of Economic Community of West African Countries with a focus on Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.
It stated that of the four countries, Nigeria recorded the biggest loss of about 2.9 billion dollars (N577 billion) to waivers yearly, more than the Federal Government’s annual budget to the education sector.
The report said Nigeria was followed by Ghana, which lost about 2.27 billion dollars annually, about thrice the allocation in its annual budget to the health sector.
ActionAid Nigeria Country Director, Ms Ojobo Atuluku, at the launch of the report, decried the abuse of such incentives to and by multinational firms.
Atuluku said incentives were given to companies in the hope that foreign investors would bring in capital to support economic development and create local employment.
She, however, said that there was little evidence that tax incentives had increased investment in the West African sub region.
The director said granting tax incentives to investors, notably foreign companies, was depriving governments of money to pay for essential public services like health, education and infrastructure.
She said this had been hindering regional integration and failing in the stated objective of attracting new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Atuluku said that the increased investment in the region was due largely to the presence of natural resources and not necessarily because of the incentives granted.
“Corporate tax incentives, which are reductions in tax offered by governments to attract investment, including reduced corporate income tax holidays for specified periods, often provided to companies operating in special economic zones.
“Despite serious questions about their usefulness and their large revenue losses, the use of tax incentives in ECOWAS member states is common practice,” she said.
Business
NAFDAC Decries Circulation Of Prohibited Food Items In markets …….Orders Vendors’ Immediate Cessation Of Dealings With Products
Importers, market traders, and supermarket operators have therefore, been directed to immediately cease all dealings in these items and to notify their supply chain partners to halt transactions involving prohibited products.
The agency emphasized that failure to comply will attract strict enforcement measures, including seizure and destruction of goods, suspension or revocation of operational licences, and prosecution under relevant laws.
The statement said “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of smuggling, sale, and distribution of regulated food products such as pasta, noodles, sugar, and tomato paste currently found in markets across the country.
“These products are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are not permitted for importation”.
NAFDAC also called on other government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Shippers Council, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to collaborate in enforcing the ban on these unsafe products.
