EMPLOYERS REJECT FG’S EXPATRIATE EMPLOYMENT LEVY
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The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association has warned that the Ministry of Interior’s expatriate employment levy will deter investment in the country.
The association also faulted the levy, saying there would be a need for certain regulations to be put in place before such tax could be imposed.
In a statement on Sunday, NECA said that following the launch of the Expatriate Employment Handbook, an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Interior, purportedly aimed at enhancing skills transfer in Nigeria, the new levy would frustrate the Federal Government’s ongoing fiscal and monetary reforms if implemented.
The Director-General of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, “It will also serve as a disincentive to Foreign Direct Investment among many other unintended negative consequences. The levy of between $10,000 to $15,000 on employers that employ expatriates when Nigeria is actively seeking FDI is not only exploitative and extortionist but also a contradiction that cannot be explained.”
“While we support the Federal Government’s objective of developing the local workforce, we have been at the forefront of promoting skills transfer, technical skills development, and employment generation.
He added, “However, the recently launched initiative of the Ministry of Interior has the potential to create more fundamental economic and socio-labour distortions.“
“The imposition of US$15,000 and US$10,000 on organisations that employ expatriates at a time when businesses are shutting down and leaving the country in droves is worrisome. Recent results of many businesses have shown massive losses, a situation that could potentially increase the level of unemployment with dire socio-economic consequences.”
While raising organised businesses’ concern on the legality and appropriateness of the levy, Oyerinde said, “We are concerned at the legality and appropriateness of the Expatriate Employment Levy as well as its effect on the economy. The provisions of a Handbook can never override clear provisions of extant laws in Nigeria, especially the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Immigration Act, and the Local Content Act among others.”
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