The Governor of #Taraba State in #Nigeria imposed a 24-hour #curfew as a result of communal #clashes in some parts of the area which have reportedly led to the death of dozens of people.
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Video - 24-hour curfew declared in Nigeria's Taraba state, Karim town
Nigeria projected to save $28 Billion after ending fuel subsidies
Nigeria will save more than 21 trillion naira ($28 billion) in two years after scrapping gasoline subsidies and allowing its currency to weaken, according to the World Bank.
The savings will help President Bola Tinubu’s government cut its record fiscal deficit and a debt-service burden that surpassed revenue in 2022, the Washington-based lender said in a report. The budget shortfall will narrow to 3.9% of gross domestic product by 2025 from 5.1% this year, according to the report.
Scrapping the fuel cap will enable Nigeria’s state oil company to export crude instead of setting it aside to pay for the subsidies. Easing foreign-exchange controls will help the government convert overseas earnings at market prices rather than at “overvalued” rates, the bank said.
It forecast Africa’s biggest economy will expand 4% from 2024 should it implement urgently required reforms. The continent’s most populous nation has for years resisted calls by the World Bank to do away with its costly gasoline subsidies and myriad exchange rates that have stymied growth.
Africa’s largest crude producer should take further steps to increase non-oil revenue, lower inflation and expand the social safety net to protect the poor and most vulnerable, the World Bank said.
“The government could propose a compact with Nigerian citizens that directly links the phased-out subsidy to compensatory cash transfers,” it said.
More from the report:
. Inflation will accelerate to an average of 25% this year, compared with 18.8% in 2022
. Debt service as a proportion of federal government revenue will drop to 76% by 2025 from 121% this year.
By Anthony Osae-Brown, Bloomberg
Informal traders targeted in Nigeria to boost tax
Nigeria's federal revenue agency said on Monday it had partnered with a traders association to collect value added tax (VAT) from millions of informal traders, part of a push to widen the tax base by President Bola Tinubu's government.
Africa's largest economy has embarked on its boldest reform agenda in decades, including the removal of a popular petrol subsidy and restrictions on foreign exchange trading, a gamble by Tinubu to try boost sluggish growth.
Nigeria has one of the lowest tax collection rates in the world at around 10.8% of GDP, according to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Only 47% of this year's budget will come from revenues and the rest from borrowing.
The FIRS said in a statement that it was partnering with the Market Traders Association of Nigeria (MATAN) to collect and remit VAT from its members, especially those in the informal sector, using a digital platform.
It said the partnership would help "curb the activities of touts, miscreants and self-imposed tax collectors involved in illegal tax collection in Nigeria's market spaces."
MATAN says it has more than 40 million traders, mostly in the informal sector where a majority of Nigerians earn a living.
The revenue agency said MATAN members will receive identity cards with tax identification numbers and a digital platform would track their turnover for tax purposes.
By MacDonald Dzirutwe, Reuters
Related stories: President Tinubu stuns wary investors with quick reforms
Nigerians are feeling the brunt of President Tinubu's economic shakeup
Monday, July 3, 2023
Video - 8-year-old Ivie Urieto spreads love for chess among the youth in Nigeria
Chess is a no-barrier game, and one Nigerian youngster is making her mark on the global stage.
Related story: 12-year-old Nigerian chess prodigy and his family granted asylum by U.S.
Video - Techpreneurs ease operations for SMEs in Nigeria
A team of young techprenuers in Nigeria has developed a financial service platform to enhance transactions and record keeping among small scale businesses. Digital communication experts say using such platforms to boost business processes have the potential to improve the country's economy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)