It Will Lead to Mass Hunger: NLC Kicks Against Planned Excise Duty on Soft Drinks in Nigeria

• The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned the Nigerian government that the new excise duty being proposed on Soft drink will lead to mass hunger
• The NLC also said the move will lead to about 1.5 million loss of jobs and Company Income Tax in Nigeria
• According to Labour Nigerian will suffer immense hunger as they depend on soft drinks to survive hunger in the land

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said if the planned excise duty is imposed on soft drinks in Nigeria, it will lead to mass hunger as most Nigerians depend on the soft drink to quench immediate hunger due to their affordability.

Nairametrics said the labour union asked the federal government to immediately halt the plans to impose tax on locally made non-alcoholic and carbonated drinks.

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Billions will be lost in revenue

Labour warned that companies making these drinks will lose revenue which will, in turn, lead to mass unemployment as the companies will lay off staff due to poor revenues.

This was contained in a letter a statement by NLC and signed by its president, Ayuba which said the plan, if carried out, will also reduce Company Income Tax. VAT and Tertiary Education Tax.

Job loss looms

The labour union urged the country's National Assembly to immediately amend the parts of the Finance Act which re-introduced the 1986 excise duties on non-alcoholic and carbonated drinks. The union said implementing the Act will impose a lot of hardship on Nigerians and a loss of jobs of about N1.5 million.

It warned the Nigerian government not to let the current situation lead to industrial action in the sector.

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Manufacturers react

Legit.ng reports that The Manufacturer Association (MAN) has called on the federal government to reconsider its plan to introduce N10 per litre excise duty on carbonated, and non-alcoholic drinks.

MAN stated in a paper titled "Key Considerations Against Excise on Non-Alcoholic Beverages" that the proposed law would be unproductive and would result in income loss for the government, ThisDay reports.

According to MAN, between 2022 and 2025, the federal government may earn N81 billion from excise duty but lose N197 billion from other taxes, like Value Added Tax and Company Income Tax from soft drink makers.

Source: Legit.ng