TUC tackles FG over VAT increment

…says it’s attempt to overburden consumers

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), yesterday slammed the Federal Government over the recently signed Finance Bill that hikes the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5.0 per cent to 7.5 per cent.

In a statement signed by its President, Comrade Quadri Olaleye, the Congress described the increment as a deliberate attempt to further overburden the common man and stifle businesses.

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“Multiple taxation is a bane to economic development anywhere in the world; hence most countries are reducing taxes to encourage Small Scale Businesses. We have heard about Nigeria doing well in the World Ease of Doing Business Index, but the experience in our country does not corroborate that claim. Any law that helps the government to generate more revenue at the expense of the public for us is anti-people and incapable of growing any economy.

“It is indeed pathetic that the Federal Government appears to be more interested in collecting taxes than creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. Empirical evidences have shown that the poverty rate in the country has increased abysmally.

“We see all these moves as a ploy to get back at the workers for asking for a review of the National Minimum Wage. This contradicts the promise of change the current administration made to Nigerians at the build -up of 2015 elections.”

While noting that government cannot create all the jobs, he tasked government to provide a conducive environment so as to fertilise the efforts by individuals to set up businesses in the country.

“Not much can be achieved if investors are daily grappling with taxes.  Government must begin to think out of the box to salvage the economy. Therefore 7.5 per cent increase in tax is a NO for the TUC.”