The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called on the federal government to tread cautiously with its plan to save over N6 trillion by removing tax waivers and exemptions granted to some large enterprises in the oil and gas sector.
The LCCI also told the government that the oil and gas sector required sensitive regulatory environment to avoid disrupting investments in that sector. It advised that the government should reposition the industry by steeply implementing the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in order to pave way for new investments and also encourage indigenous companies to reflate the sector with required investments.
The chamber expressed these views in a statement titled, “LCCI Comments on the 2022 Finance Bill. It noted that President Muhammadu Buhari withheld his presidential ascent to the proposed legislation in order to subject it to further review.
The statement signed by the Director General of the LCCI, Dr. Chinyere Almona, stated, “With the plan to exit some large enterprises from the Pioneer Status Incentives, the government can save about N6 trillion tax expenditure (waivers, exemptions, incentives granted by the government), according to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning in her 2023 Budget presentation.
