The Jigawa Government has announced a one year tax holiday for all existing Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), whose businesses suffered as a result of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the state.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Babangida Umar, who made this known during a press conference in Dutse on Tuesday, said that the tax holiday came into effect on July 1.
Umar also announced an 18-months tax holiday with effect from July 1, 2020, to all new enterprises (Business name only) and individual businesses that would come up after the pandemic in the state.
The commissioner added that the government had extended the filing of tax returns to Sept. 30, 2020, for all existing business names and individual taxpayers in the state.
Umar further announced a reduction of penalty and interest to single digit, from 10 percent to 5 percent, and from 21 percent to 9 percent for late filing of annual returns by individual taxpayers and enterprises.
According to him, a 50 percent waiver has also been granted to informal sector taxpayers from July 1, 2020, up till December 31, 2021.
He explained that the waiver was in line with the 5th Schedule, Section 57 (1) of Jigawa State Revenue (codification and consolidation) Law no. 4 of 2019.
“Also approved by the government is a 50% waiver on business premises license, and 50% waiver for warehouse rent for businesses at Export Processing Zone (EPZ).”
The commissioner, however, pointed out that the incentive did not affect corporate bodies who were required to file their returns in respect of their employees on or before Jan. 31 of each year.
Source: VON
