CORONAVIRUS: Tinubu To Buhari: Suspend VAT, Print More Naira Notes

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to suspend the collection of Value Added Tax amidst amidst the ravaging outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. 

Tinubu said this in a statement he wrote in commemoration of his 68th birthday on Friday in Lagos. 

Tinubu said the government must assuage the sufferings of Nigerians by introducing tax cuts, while the Central Bank of Nigeria must reduce interest rates.

He stated: “Government should announce a tax credit or partial tax reduction for companies or firms. VAT should be suspended for the next two to four months. This will help lower import costs and protect against shortages.
“We need to protect the people from food shortages and high prices. As such, we must quickly improve farm-to-market delivery of agricultural produce. Also, government should initiate a crash program to decrease spoilage of agricultural produce by construction of storage facilities in local marketplaces in and around major cities and towns throughout the country.”

Tinubu also asked the federal government to make efforts in printing more Naira notes so as to address the problem of inadequate cash in circulation during this period.
The the Muhammadu Buhari led federal government had last in February 2020 increased VAT from five per cent to 7.5 per cent.