The Nigerian Association
of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), has called
on the Federal Government to review the recently introduced ₦50 stamp duty.
The
Nation report continues:
The
association said the introduction of charges on all banking transfers has
become a cause for concern among private sector operators, as it has added to
their overhead cost in spite of different challenges they faced.
NACCIMA
President, Chief Bassey E.O. Edem, argued that though the charge is
constitutional and understandable in this period that government is making
efforts to shore up its revenue, government should mitigate the effects of the
charge by increasing its domestic spending.
Chief
Edem, who spoke with The Nation in Lagos, on the prevailing economic situation
in the country, stated that several policies introduced by the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) to stimulate the economy fall below the expectations of the
business community.
He
said: “While we appreciate the review of the foreign exchange policies by the
CBN to allow for behind-the-counter forex transaction, it is however, important
to note that the margin between the official rate and parallel market is too
wide to support international trade considering the long list of prohibited
items.
“Also,
having put in place measures to eliminate round tripping, it is now expedient
for the apex bank to review the list of prohibited items to allow importers of
raw materials that are not readily available in the country to have access to
foreign exchange thereby preventing further collapse due to high cost of
production.”
Edem
called on CBN to develop a strategy that would encourage manufacturing
industries that have the capacity to manufacture exportable products and raw
materials, so as to enhance the nation’s foreign exchange earnings and further
reduce the dependence on crude oil earnings.
On
interest rate, the NACCIMA chief stressed that the interest rate, which hovers
between 17% and 28% is a major challenge to the business community, in spite of
the reduction of Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) from 13% to 11%.
According to him, this has
also reflected in the credit to the private sector, which currently stands at ₦18.719
trillion, translating to only 5% as against the benchmark of 25%.
No comments:
Post a Comment