FG, others meeting on luxury tax as Moët & Chandon sees hot market in Nigeria
At a time the Federal Government has commenced discussions with state governments and National Assembly on the framework for the implementation of the planned taxes on luxury items, leading luxury wine manufacturers, Pierre-Louis Araud, the Global Brand Ambassador for Moët & Chandon who is on marketing visit to Nigeria said “I am to here to share the magic of Moët & Chandon with Nigerian people. I am not sure they need me to enjoy their wine because Moët & Chandon is very hot in Nigeria”.
According to him, the hotness of the brand which analysts say is among the costliest wine brand for status, “makes it easier to share the values of Moët & Chandon, and to explain the story behind this company”.
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, had said in Abuja weekend that the ongoing consultations are part of measures aimed at ensuring a smooth implementation of the planned tax regime.
He attributed the delay in implementing the new VAT regime to the current consultations, noting that Nigerians would soon know the items to be taxed as luxury goods.
Udoma averred that “since the bulk of revenue from VAT was allocated to the state and local governments, their input was vital for the new tax regime to be successful”.
He explained further that based on allocation from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), the Federal Government gets 15 per cent of VAT revenue, while the states and local governments get 50 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively.
While stressing that the Federal Government was determined to implement the taxes on luxury items to shore up the much needed non-oil revenue, Udoma said, “The issue of luxury items has been on for quite some time but the thing about VAT is that it needs a lot of consultation with the National Assembly and the state governments and indeed the bulk of the revenue generated from VAT goes to the states”.
“The reason for the delay in implementation is because most of those consultations are ongoing. It’s not easy to agree with everybody on what should be a luxury item and what is essential but we are on it and I accept that really, we should move much faster in terms of implementing that.”
