The Nigerian Government, through the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has announced plans to implement a zero-rated tax on food items.
This was revealed by the Chairman of the Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, during an interview with Channels Television.
Oyedele explained that the current Value Added Tax (VAT) system places an undue burden on the poorest citizens, particularly regarding essential food items. “Even the VAT system was placing too much burden on the poorest people. For example, you had food items, some of them were exempted. So we’ve decided that food should not just be exempted, it should be zero-rated,” he stated.
In a related development, Oyedele disclosed that the committee is working on a proposal to increase VAT from the current rate of 7.5 percent to 10 percent.
This announcement coincides with the recent hike in fuel prices by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, which saw the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) rise to N897 and N855 per liter from N617.
