The Internal Revenue Service of Bayelsa, Kebbi and Ogun States have announced various tax reliefs and incentives for taxpayers to cushion the impact of the pandemic on individuals and businesses in their States. We have provided below, a summary of the various palliatives announced by the States:

• Bayelsa State

The Executive Chairman of Bayelsa State Board of Internal Revenue issued a public notice announcing the following tax reliefs and incentives for taxpayers in the State:

1. Extension of the deadline for filing Form A returns for taxpayers to 30 September 2020.
2. Waiver of interest and penalty for all outstanding Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax remittances until 31 August 2020.
3. Waiver of penalty for outstanding tax issues of periods up to December 2019 provided the undisputed liabilities are settled within one month from 1 July 2020 when the restriction on interstate travels outside curfew hours was lifted.
4. 50% discount on the personal income tax (PIT) assessment as contained in the State’s Minimum Harmonised Tax Rates for the informal sector for 2020 year of assessment.
5. 35% discount on pool betting tax for 2020 year of assessment.

• Kebbi State

The Executive Chairman of Kebbi Board of Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday, 15 July 2020, confirmed the following incentives approved by the State government for taxpayers in the State:

1. Suspension of the implementation of the new rates, fines and levies under the Revenue Administration Law of the State, which is currently under review, for a period of one year from the date it is signed into law.
2. Extension of the deadline for filing tax returns for individuals and businesses to 30 July 2020.
3. Waiver of interest and penalty that may arise from extension of the filing due date.
4. 100% waiver of annual development levy for every taxable person in the State for 2020 year of assessment.
5. Waiver of 50% of accrued interest and penalty on outstanding tax liabilities of corporate entities.
6. Waiver of 30% of all tax liabilities outstanding for a year and above for individuals under PIT assessment.

• Ogun State

The Ogun State Internal Revenue Service recently issued a Public Notice communicating the following palliatives for taxpayers in the State:

1. Extension of the deadline for filing of 2019 income tax returns by individuals to 30 September 2020.
2. Extension of the deadline for filing of annual PAYE tax returns to 30 September 2020.
3. Waiver of interest and penalty for late filing of 2019 annual PAYE returns during the approved extension period.
4. Waiver of interest and penalty for late remittance of monthly PAYE returns from January 2020 to September 2020.
5. Waiver of interest and penalty for late payment of direct assessment/ PIT by self-employed individuals in 2020.
6. Waiver of weekly tax by operators/promoters of pool and betting business from 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020.
7. Adoption of video conferencing as the default mode for conducting tax audit reconciliation committee meetings.

Comments

We commend the governments of Bayelsa, Kebbi and Ogun States for introducing these palliatives for taxpayers in their States. Expectedly, these tax reliefs will ease the financial challenges that taxpayers are grappling with as a result of the pandemic.

It is hoped that other State Governments will introduce similar tax reliefs that would ease the financial impact of the pandemic on taxpayers in their States.

Please click here to access KPMG Business Impact Series on COVID-19.

For further enquiries, please contact:

Wole Obayomi

ng-fmtaxenquiries@ng.kpmg.com