President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday signed the 2019 Finance Bill into law.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, confirmed this development in a statement in Abuja.

The statement said: “This is the first time, since the return of democracy in 1999, that a Federal Budget is being accompanied by passage of a Finance Bill specially designed to support its implementation and to create a truly enabling environment for business and investment by the private sector.”

President Buhari said the Act has five strategic objectives, in terms of achieving incremental, but necessary, changes to the fiscal laws.

“These objectives are: Promoting fiscal equity by mitigating instances of regressive taxation; Reforming domestic tax laws to align with global best practices; Introducing tax incentives for investments in infrastructure and capital markets; Supporting Micro, Small and Medium-sized businesses in line with our Ease of Doing Business Reforms; and Raising Revenue for Government.

The new law is expected to make more revenue available to finance key government projects in health, education and critical infrastructure.”

The National Assembly passed the Finance Bill in November 2019. The finance law seeks to amend six tax provisions and make them more responsive to tax reform policies.

Meanwhile, there is an increase in Value Added Tax on specific goods and services from 5 percent to 7.5 percent; the law also affects changes in the tax provision of the Customs and Excise Tariff Act to encourage local manufacturers.

The Financial Act is an amendment to seven extant fiscal laws, which are: the Petroleum Profit Tax Act, the Customs and Excise Tariff Act, the Company Income Tax Act, the Personal Income Tax Act, the Value Added Tax, the Stamp Duties Act and the Capital Gains Tax.