The Finance Bill, 2019 (the Bill), presented alongside the 2020 proposed budget to a joint session of the National Assembly on 8 October 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari, has passed the second reading. The Bill's strategic objectives, amongst others, include promoting fiscal equity, reforming domestic tax laws, introducing new tax incentives and raising revenue for the government.

The crux of the Bill is the proposed amendments to the provisions of the most relevant direct and indirect tax legislation. The highlights of some of the proposed amendments vis-à-vis the affected tax legislation are as follows

The proposed amendment is a good step towards achieving the objectives of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) with respect to paying taxes. Please watch out for our newsletter on this topic for a more detailed analysis of each proposed amendment and attendant implications.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.