Wike grants approval for the implementation of property tax in Abuja.

The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has given the green light to a proposed property tax regulation for the city.

This development signifies that property owners in Abuja will now be obligated to pay property taxes. The FCT-Internal Revenue Service has initiated the enforcement of the Capital Gains Tax in the FCT, as outlined in the Capital Gains Tax Act of 2004.

The Capital Gains Tax mandates a ten percent tax on the total chargeable gains accruing to any individual upon the disposal of chargeable assets in a given assessment year. Haruna Abdullahi, the Executive Chairman of FCT-IRS, revealed this information during a conversation with journalists in Abuja on Sunday.

Abdullahi explained that the minister has endorsed significant initiatives aimed at boosting revenue for the FCT. He stated, “In the last three weeks, the minister has approved some initiatives that are substantial and will undoubtedly alter the dynamics in terms of the bottom line. Just recently, we submitted a draft proposal to the minister for the FCT property tax regulation.”

“The FCT-IRS Act empowers the minister to formulate a property tax regulation for the FCT. We had an extensive discussion, suggested it to the minister, and he instructed us to draft the regulation, which we did. He has approved the initiative.”

“We have initiated an inter-agency collaboration to review it, as the draft was prepared solely by the FCT-IRS. However, involving other stakeholders is essential. The minister has endorsed the initiative to proceed with the review of the draft, and subsequently, he will sign the regulation, and once gazetted, it will be implemented. This alone indicates a significant positive impact on the bottom line of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the city.”