The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has announced that stamp duties will be exempted from property rent below N10m, as enshrined in the new tax reform bills currently in the National Assembly.
Oyedele disclosed this in Abuja at the Building and Construction Industry Forum, with the theme “Nigeria’s Tax Reforms and the Building and Construction Industry: Implications and Opportunities”, organised by the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria and the Housing Development Advocacy Network.
Oyedele said, “What we have done in the reform bills is to make them very clear so there is no debate. Also, we have added that there will be a stamp duty exemption for rents that are below N10m.
“So if you’re paying rent, which is what many people will do because they don’t own a house, you won’t have to pay stamp duties unless you’re a rich person who is paying a lot. It’s not like we are punishing rich people; it’s just that they have a better ability to pay.
Then capital gains tax is exempted on the sale of your dwelling house.”
He added that “withholding tax on construction will now be a maximum of two per cent, which means the rate is significantly reduced.”
The Executive Director of the Housing Development Advocacy Network, Festus Adebayo, advised that the tax committee should consider incentives or tax rebates.
He said this will encourage developers to invest in low-cost housing, as many currently face high rents and fees.
He said, “Since the tax reform is still in the National Assembly, the tax committee should consider the idea of putting an incentive, tax rebate, or anything that can encourage some of those developers or investors to go into the delivery of low-cost housing. Because today, the majority of those estate developers are facing a lot of hurdles in the area of rents and fees they pay in many places.”
Corroborating the above, the Managing Director, Urban Shelter, Sa’adiya Aliyu-Aminu, described taxation as a critical tool for economic transparency and national development.
She said, “Proper taxation will reduce reliance on oil, enhance accountability, and make the sector more attractive to local and foreign investors.”
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of CORBON, Samson Opaluwah, said the Forum became necessary to advance the conversation on how the tax reform bills would help the growth and development of the construction sector.
