THE TAXAIDER NEWSLETTER VOL 2, ISSUE 8 (AUGUST 2020)

First Thoughts: Post-Lockdown Musings

I have often heard some people say they usually get their inspiration to write from rather uncomfortable situations and experiences. I say, ‘well done to them’. I guess I need to learn how they manage to do this. So, I’ve been in traffic for the last three hours and guys, I can’t seem to get any inspiration from this experience and putting down my ‘First Thoughts’ for today’s Newsletter has been quite a challenge. I have been looking from my laptop to the window repeatedly as we move at snail speed. Once or twice, I have been tempted to step out of the car to stretch my legs but hey, this is Lagos, and this is the Third Mainland Bridge! Anything can happen! Hopefully, I would get home before I am done with this piece.

I am seated at the backseat of my car and while I am grateful for the opportunity and luxury of being driven home while I work on my laptop, the Oliver Twist in me wants to ignore this reality and keeps wondering how much longer it would take to arrive at my destination. I am one of the many Lagosians affected by the partial closure of the Third Mainland Bridge since 24th July 2020. It has been a little over one month now and the thought that this would be the norm for the next five months while the bridge undergoes repairs makes me cringe.

Something tells me the authorities never actually anticipated that so many commuters would be back on the roads so soon. Actually, I never did. I had thought most of us would continue working from home until the Covid-19 pandemic comes to an end. How wrong I was. It has been only a few months since the lifting of the lockdown and life has practically returned to normal, at least in Lagos, Nigeria. We seem to have forgotten about the Covid-19 pandemic and its scare.

The only thing that seems to remind me of the pandemic right now is the constant updates from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC). Yes, the numbers have been reducing but the pandemic is not exactly over, so I continue to wonder why most people seem to have thrown caution into the wind and live as though the danger is finally over. I encourage you to continue to keep safe and take all necessary precautions until it is officially confirmed that the pandemic is over.

In this Issue:

  • We review the recently released Q2 2020 GDP Report by Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and how Nigeria’s economy has been hardly hit by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
  • We reproduce our piece ‘Approaching the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Deadline: Important Information Your Financial Institution Should Know + Do’. Please remember that the deadline for submitting the 2019 Income Tax (Common Reporting Standard) Regulations is fast approaching. The deadline was extended from 31st May 2020 to 30th September 2020. Taxaide is more than able to assist with your due diligence and reporting obligations under the Regulations.

As usual, we have developed an innovative solution to handle this by automating the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) compliance process. We can assist your Financial Institution in its due diligence by making the CRS process a seamless one.

  • We bring to you a presentation by our Executive Director and Partner, Taxaide; Oyeyemi Oke, on ‘The Finance Act 2020: Implications For Corporate Governance’. Read HERE.
  • The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), generated a sum of N1.29 trillion tax revenue in Q2 2020; surpassing the N1.27 trillion target. Read more here.
  • President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a one-year deferment of the 35 per cent import adjustment tax (levy) imposed on Fully-built Unit (FBU) electricity meters.

Please stay tuned to our TaxThursday bulletins, our website and of course our mobile application, TBook.

Please don’t forget to follow us on Social Media. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. We appreciate your feedbacks as usual. Please continue to send them. Feel free to read more of our publications on our website. You can email us on intelandcomms@localhost or if you prefer, call us on 0700TAXAIDE.

Update: I am still on the Third Mainland Bridge. This is definitely worse than I thought! I hope I am home by the time this gets published though. :-0

Till Next Time

GB (g.sile@localhost)

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