By Elizabeth Chukwuma
Ahead of the passage of the new Tax regime initiated by President Ahmed Tinubu’ by the National Assembly, which had passed the second reading as at November 2024, Oliver Alawuba, Group Managing Director, GMD, United Bank for Africa, UBA, plc, popular, Pan African Bank, and his Management Team, who are determined to help the Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, in the documentation process appears to have taken the lead among its competitors.
Alawuba, led Management Team of UBA, were said to have gathered Tax experts on Thursday, January 30, 2025, at the bank’s House, Marina, Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve center, to discuss on the Withholding Tax Regulations and its implications to individuals and SMEs.
Currently operating in 20 African countries including Nigeria, the United Kingdom, UK, the North American country of the United States, US, France and the United Arab Emirate, UAE, the bank, which provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services as well as a leading financial inclusion and implement cutting edge technology appears determined to go ahead of its competitors in the discharge of its responsibilities to customers.
aDescribed as one of the largest employers of labour in the country’s Financial Institutions and the African Continent in general, with over 25,000 employees, worldwide and serving over 45 million customers. The bank may have made the bold statement to organize the witholding Tax Regulations forum to prove that it actually cares for the interest of its customers in the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
An insider said the Tax experts had laid specific emphasis on how the withholding Tax Regulations regime will affect the SMEs, by paying close attention ‘’to documentation and agreements to ensure they avoid unnecessary Tax liabilities’’.
The Tax experts were said to have shared shared during the first edition of the Lagos based MDB, ‘’knowledge series webinar’’ in 2024, titled, ‘’2024 Withholding Tax Regulations by laying specific emphasis on how it will affect the SMEs’’. The Tax experts, were said to have also discussed the implications of the Federal Government withholding new tax regulations on the SMEs, particular. They were said to have provided insight ‘’on how businesses can navigate the evolving tax landscape to thrive this 2025, fiscal year and beyond.
Babatunde Ajayi, Head, SME Banking, UBA plc, Adeyemi Adeniran, and Vincent Okoukuni, both Financial Analysts at Anderson Consulting, were said to have shared practical insight and strategies for the SMEs to comply with the new Tax Regulations while minimizing financial burdens and maximizing growth opportunities.
Explaining the potentials of the newly proposed withholding tax regulations, Adeniran had said that the updated tax regime aims ‘’to address inefficiencies in the previous tax regime to ensure timely tax remittances to support government obligations.
He noted that ‘’what this means was that while individuals and companies are required to pay taxes at the end of the year, the government is saying through the withholding tax regime arrangement, that ‘’it cannot wait till the end of the year ‘’to collect these taxes because it has immediate obligations’’.
The Anderson Consultant Financial Analysts was said to have stated clearly that based on the withholding Tax new regime, transactions that occur between the parties, the Individual or company and the government, the customer is required to withhold a portion of the tax and remit to the FG, rather than wait until the end of the year
He had stated clearly that the new withholding tax regulations was to further address the past few years, significant challenges to the withholding tax mechanism, which has created certain challenges and inefficiencies’’.
Okoukoni, another Anderson Consultant, Financial Analysts, who was said to have spoken on the same platform like Adeniran, his colleague, from the same Anderson consultant, was said to have elaborated on what he had said, but added that businesses with an annual turnover of less than 25 million, the Customers are not required to deduct taxes from the payments they owe you.
The message was very clear to individuals and companies that they must receive full payment for all transactions which would directly improve their cash flows.
Describing it as a positive development for SMEs, as it allows them to retain funds, which the Anderson Consultant Financial Analysts had said will ‘’support and grow their operations.’’
Recall that Adeniran, the Anderson Consultant Financial Analysts had stated in his remarks that going by the withholding new tax regime, that SMEs are expected’ to satisfy tow conditions. One of such conditions was that the company must be registered with the Tax Authority. Another Condition that must be fulfilled by the SMEs, was that in any given month, the transaction amount should not exceed N2 million.
Ajayi, Head, UBA, SME, Banking, in his own contribution to the discussions on the new withholding Tax regulations regime had emphasized the bank’s commitment to supporting the SMEs, in the light of the new withholding tax regulations.
He was said to have repeatedly stated that at the Pan African Bank, they will continue to ensure SMEs, get all the needed support ‘’ to thrive and soar’’, especially under the withholding tax framework. Given an insider information, he had said that SMEs are not just businesses but innovators and risk – takers who play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the African Continent.
Speaking after withholding tax webinar session, Aliero Ladipo, Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, was said to have commended the participants for ‘’ giving and sharing valuable insights into the withholding tax regime, noting that the session will be a guide for the SMEs and other small businesses to the age the new tax regime will be effectively put into use.
He averred that the Bank is also passionate about helping Customers grow their businesses, noting that it was not surprising why It has Launched this new series
