Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), a key member of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), has called on the government to abolish Value Added Tax (VAT) on real estate sales.
NECA has also asked the Federal Government to shift focus from increases in taxation to implementing policy reforms that promote radical industrialisation of the country.
The Director-General of NECA, Timothy Olawale, while speaking with journalists in Lagos on Monday, noted that the focus on tax increases as against stimulating the nation’s productive base, cannot take the economy out of the woods.
According to Olawale, what the economy requires at this time are far radical reaching policies like the abolition of VAT on real estate sales, financial services and domestic airline ticket sales, abolishing capital gain tax on sales of shares and import duty on spare parts.
He said it was time the government reassessed its strategies with a view to coming up with reforms that enable a paradigm shift from its current economic strategy.
“There is no better time for the government, to focus on a radical industrialisation of our country as a means of making it the hub of economic activities in the West African sub-region and also ensure Nigeria benefits maximally from the
African continental free trade pact recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We have consistently taken the lazy path of tax increases that stifles and further burden businesses rather than the ingenious way of promoting and stimulating production”.
Olawale further made case for a reduction of VAT on small traders to 3%, abolition of import duty on machinery and raw materials amongst many others.
He said all these will directly stimulate production and create wealth for the nation and its citizenry.
He said: “Production and productivity induced policies focused on the rapid development of our industrial base is the only sustainable option for our national development.”
Although he commend government for the efforts in the last four years to stimulate the economy and support the real sector, he nevertheless, argued there have been contradictions in the regulatory environment which continue to negate the government’s efforts.
Olawale noted that “if government can muster political will to take expected radical bold steps, Nigeria in no time might become the industrial hub of the African continent”.
JOSHUA BASSEY
