On Friday, the former president of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Samuel Nzekwe, advised President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime to suspend the implementation of proposed excise taxes.

Speaking at Ota, Ogun, Mr Nzekwe said the proposed taxes might adversely affect the economy adversely.

“The federal government needs to be cautious in imposing the proposed taxes as Nigerians and companies are still battling with the effects of CBN’s redesign of the naira and the cashless policy. This is not a good time to implement the policy because it can lead to a rise in the unemployment rate, diminish the purchasing power of the people and slow down the GDP,” he said.

Mr Nzekwe noted that Nigeria and Nigerians were still counting the socio-economic losses they suffered when the CBN began implementing the cashless policy.

He explained that the naira had been devalued so much and that imposing additional taxes on goods and services would have negative impacts.

He also argued that the inflationary effect was already taking its toll on the cost of importing raw materials.

According to him, manufacturing costs usually go high from the point of importation of raw materials, always affected by the dollar’s exchange rate.

Finance minister Zainab Ahmed stated recently that the Buhari regime was looking at implementing new tax rates across different sectors, including telecommunication and beverages.

(NAN)