BUSINESS
FIRS Boss Enjoins WA Tax Administrators To Redouble Revenue Mobilization Efforts
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami, has enjoined tax authorities across the West African Sub-Region to step up their efforts towards generating higher tax revenues for their respective countries to accelerate development in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
In a statement by FIRS Director of Communications and Liaison Department Dr Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmad on Friday, Nami gave the charge at the opening of the “Regional Seminar on the Problems of Tax Transition in West Africa”, organised by the Steering Committee of Support Program for Tax Transition in West Africa (PATF) in Abuja on Thursday.
He stated that governments across West Africa needed enhanced tax revenues to tackle many development-related challenges they confront, especially in the areas of “health and security difficulties”.
Welcoming delegates and other participants to the event, which was the first major stakeholder meeting of the PATF that is focused on domestic revenue mobilization in the sub-region, Nami congratulated Member-countries “for the relentless work you have done since January 2020, the date of the effective start of the PATF.”
He noted that “since the establishment and effective holding of the first Steering Committee, the execution of the missions in progress has accelerated, making it possible to have results that can be shared by the actors of the Program and the beneficiaries. Since then, we have come a long way, with results that are certainly mixed, but encouraging and which should encourage us to continue our work.”
He listed areas where the PATF needed to work on to achieve its set objectives. These include “the establishment of the PATF Steering Committee; improving the management of tax expenditures in the region; providing a practical guide for Value Added Tax (VAT) management for West Africa; the creation of a regional methodology guide for the evaluation of tax expenditures; and the establishment of an information system specific to the UEMOA and ECOWAS Commissions.”
To achieve these goals, Nami posited that “our countries must have national databases and a regional platform” even as he observed that “this indispensable steering body of our consultation system still lacks vitality, as it does not have institutional and financial guarantees.”
He, therefore, tasked participants at the seminar “to complete your work as soon as possible, but above all to propose innovative, realistic and feasible recommendations. Our various governments are facing health and security difficulties; in this context, they greatly need these results.”
The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) continued its bullish trend on Wednesday, gaining N183 billion.
Accordingly, the market capitalisation, which opened at N59.532 trillion, gained N184 billion or 0.31 per cent to close at N59.715 trillion.
The All-Share Index also added 0.31 per cent or 303 points, to settle at 98,509.
68, against 98,206. 97 recorded on Tuesday.Consequently, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return increased to 31.
74 per cent.Gains in Aradel Holdings, Zenith Bank, United Bank For Africa(UBA), Oando Plc, Nigerian Breweries among other advanced equities drove the market performance up.
Market breadth closed positive with 34 gainers and 17 losers.
On the gainers’ chart, Africa Prudential, Conoil and RT Briscoe led by 10 per cent each to close at N14.30, N352 and N2.42 per share, respectively.
Golden Guinea Breweries followed by 9.95 per cent to close at N7.18, while NEM Insurance rose by 9.74 per cent to close at N10.70 per share.
On the other hand, Julius Berger led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N155.25, Secure Electronic Technology Plc trailed by 9.52 per cent to close at 57k per share.
Multiverse lost 7.63 per cent to close at N5.45, Haldane McCall dropped 6.07 per cent to close at N4.95 and Honeywell Flour shed 5.62 per cent to close at N4.70 per share.
Analysis of the market activities showed trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 49.44 per cent.
A total of 320.10 million shares valued at N6.48 billion were exchanged in 7,943 deals, compared with 939.41 million shares valued at N12.81billion traded in 9,098 deals posted in the previous session.
Meanwhile, ETranzact led the activity chart in volume with 70.27 million shares, while Aradel led in value of deals worth N1.22 billion.(NAN)
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the Yuan, weakened 22 pips to 7.1870 against the dollar on Monday.This is according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.In China’s spot foreign exchange market, the Yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the Yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day. (Xinhua/NAN)
Arewa Youths Initiative for Energy Reforms (AYIFER), has urged Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) to do everything possible to bring Kaduna Refinery back into operation.
National Coordinator of the group, Mr Bashir Al’Amin, stated this in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja.
Al’Amin specifically called on the Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mallam Mele Kyari, to do all within his powers to rejuvenate the refinery and bring it up to global standard.
He said that having delivered the Port Harcourt refinery, coupled with the establishment of Dangote Refinery in Lagos, attention should be shifted to Kaduna refinery for easy spread of petroleum products.
“We are calling on Malam Mele Kyari to expedite action on Kaduna refinery so we can be at par with other regions in the country.
“We equally beg the NNPCL to do professional work in rehabilitating the old refinery and deliver a standard and functional petrochemical refinery and not a blending plant.
“Kyari should resist any temptation that could make him do something that can jeopardise his good image,” he said.
Al’Amin said that since the extinction of groundnut pyramid and textiles in Kano State as well as PAN in Kaduna State and with the Kaduna refinery getting moribund, a lot of youths had lost their jobs.
According to him, all their hopes in the north are tied to the legacy refinery, expressing the hope that God would use Kyari to deliver it well and on time.
He said that the group was solidly behind NNPCL in prayer and would be ready to celebrate the company if its expectations were met. (NAN)
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