..As FG imposes tax on carbonated drinks from January
Begining from January next year,Nigerians will have to pay more for taking a bottle of Cocoa Cola and other carbonated drinks.
As of now the cheapest price for a 35cl bottle is 70 naira. The increase in price is the additional burdensome decision Nigerians will take a burdensome effort according to Finance, Budget and National Budget Minister, Zainab Ahmed who announced the extra tax burden weekend.
She said this will be part of the additions in the 2021 Finance Act which will take effect from January 2022.
The new tax was part of the revelations made at the ‘Public Presentation and Breakdown of the Highlights of the 2022 Appropriation Bill.’
It will be recalled that the debate of taxing carbonated drinks began in 2019 when Ahmed said the government was considering implementing the initiative at a World Bank/International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington DC, United States.
During her 2022 budget breakdown, Ahmed said introduction of the duties will be contained in the 2021 Finance Bill.
She said the ministry and all parties involved will finish the draft by the end of October, while the bill will be sent to the legislators for passage.
The 2020 Finance Act brought in changes that exempted minimum wage earners from paying personal income tax.
On the 2021 Finance Bill, Ahmed said, “Yesterday what was presented was the Federal Government budget along with the budget of 63 government owned enterprises, the Finance Bill work we are doing is not yet complete and will be completed within the month of October, hopefully by November we can send that to the National Assembly.
“To further enhance independent revenue generation, government aims to optimize the operational efficiencies and revenue generation focus of the government owned enterprises.
“The introduction of new and further increases in existing pro-health taxes for example exercise duties on carbonated drinks- this is work in progress but it will happen in the 2021 Finance Act.
“Government’s revenue performance and remittances will become enhanced through effective implementation of the performance Management Framework including possible sanctions should there be default on targets that are set for government owned enterprises.
“The Finance Bill 2021 will contain measures that will further advance the implementation of the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative (SRGI).”
Source:Worldstage
