34 companies granted three-year tax holidays in 2023

The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) has revealed that the Federal Government approved tax holidays for 34 companies in 2023.

Lovina Kayode, Head of Incentives Administration at the commission, made this announcement during an end-of-the-year press briefing held in Abuja on Friday.

The disclosure comes in the wake of ongoing debates surrounding tax incentives and the substantial revenue loss attributed to annual waivers.

Kayode emphasized that these incentives are strategically implemented to enhance foreign investments in the country. Notably, not all companies are granted tax breaks, as the commission adheres to rigorous procedures in awarding waivers.

This move aligns with the government’s commitment to fostering a conducive business environment and attracting investments.

The NIPC has been instrumental in overseeing these processes, ensuring that the incentives contribute to the nation’s economic growth.

The NIPC Head of incentives administration said:

“The pioneer status incentive is a stimulus that allows a company to get three years of not paying corporate income tax, just to get more investments.

“This process is stringent because our parent ministry and the federal inland revenue service are involved to make sure the right investors get this incentive.

“So far this year, 34 applications have been approved and one of the things we intend to do is to ensure we are not just giving incentives to underserving companies. However, there is already a notion that Nigeria gives out too many waivers, incentives, and concessions.

“However, tax expenditure which means what government has lost by granting pioneers status incentive is just a small amount compared to what the country gains by granting these incentives to qualified companies.”

She further unveiled plans by the commission to publish impact reports evaluating the effectiveness of pioneer status incentives. This move underscores the NIPC’s commitment to transparency and accountability in the realm of investment promotion.

According to her, “On impact, that is one thing NIPC is planning on, next year, it is one of our biggest tasks to do an impact assessment. These incentives we gave out, how have they impacted the country in terms of job creation?

“How many jobs are the companies creating and what kind of import substitution has come about because we have granted these incentives and how much would the government gain after the three years of them not paying these taxes.”