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Business News of Wednesday, 1 July 2020

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Stamp duty charge can generate N1 trillion annually - SGF Boss Mustapha

Boss Mustapha Boss Mustapha

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF Boss Mustapha, has said that stamp duty can become second to crude oil in terms of revenue generation.

Boss Mustapha who spoke at the inter-ministerial committee on audit and recovery of stamp duty said it could generate as much as N1trillion annually.

The SGF also said that the government decided to revive the stamp duty charge which has been neglected for over 20 years so as to widen its revenue base.

“This has become more important now that the projected revenue realizable from all sources available to the government as per our 2020 budget estimates is far lower than the projected expenses leading to a budget deficit of over N5 trillion,” Mustapha said.

“The government has recognized the fact that for meaningful development to be achieved, it has to look inwards to use every available means to shore up its revenue-generating capacity. For too long the country has depended on oil as the main cash cow of the economy even though it is richly endowed with other viable revenue yielding sources.

“In the face of dwindling oil revenue, and the global shift away from oil-dependent technological products, it is even more compelling now to begin to think out of the box in order to safeguard the future of our country.

“There is an assurance that the collection from stamp duty will be second to oil revenue, as it has the potential to yield up to a trillion naira revenue annually if properly harnessed.

“The inter-ministerial audit and recover committee, in essence, is therefore expected to judiciously undertake an audit and recover, on behalf of the government, all stamp duties charged from January 2016 to date but yet to be remitted by the relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), money deposit banks (MDBs) and Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System PLC (NIBSS), amongst others.”