FG May Opt For Political, Out-Of-Court Solution To Resolve VAT Dispute

• A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had in a ruling delivered in August granted the Rivers State government the right to collect VAT

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Federal Government is considering an out-of-court settlement to resolve the lingering disagreement with states over the collection of the Value Added Tax (VAT).

Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

“I have to do this carefully because they are issues in court, and I am not supposed to be talking about issues in court,” said the minister who declined to give more details.

Read also: VAT Saga: Appeal Court Grants LASG’s Request To Join Suit

“But I do hope that this problem can be solved by sitting on the table, not on the pages of newspapers, not disagreements in court because it is possible to solve it on the table.

“Yes, there will be a positive political solution. We are working towards an out-of-court solution.”

She explained that the Federal Government was already making lots of efforts to reach out to authorities in the states.

Asked if the engagements were between her office and the governors, or at the National Economic Council (NEC), Ahmed said, “I said I didn’t want to discuss it because it is in court so I have to be careful.”

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