Africa-Press – Angola. The Bill that changes the Value Added Tax (VAT) Code from 14 to 5 percent goes to the final vote at the 2nd Ordinary Plenary Meeting of the National Assembly, scheduled for Thursday (16).
The first and fifth specialized committees of the National Assembly approved, this Tuesday, the joint opinion report on the specialty of the proposal under consideration with 27 votes in favor, none against and eight abstentions.
The Executive reduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) by 5 percent for widely consumed food products, against the 7 percent of the initial proposal.
Among the products proposed by the Executive in the 5 percent VAT package are beef, pork, sheep and goat meat and offal, poultry (except turkey and goose), fish (except shark, salmon and cod), milk, yogurt, butter or daisy.
The package also includes eggs, edible vegetables, fruits, tea, cereals, corn and wheat flour, cooking oil, sugar, pasta, bread and other pastries, water and salt, among others.
The parliamentary opposition defended, throughout the specialty debate, the total elimination of VAT for these food products widely consumed by the population.
By the way, the president of the 5th Economy and Finance Commission of the National Assembly, Aia-Eza da Silva, said that zero VAT does not guarantee price reductions, for those who find it easier to have products with VAT 2, 3, 5 or 7% in a context where the economy has VAT.
“In the past, if there was VAT on bread, I could go to AGT to collect the refund, but as I don’t have it, I put it into the cost of the bread and the price of the bread, instead of decreasing, could probably increase”, he explained.
AGT is the body assigned to the Ministry of Finance responsible for collecting revenue for the State and customs control, for the benefit of Angolan society.
The Minister of Finance, Vera Daves, clarified that a VAT below zero percent is unfeasible because the final effect is to increase the price of products and not reduce them.
The Legislative initiative of the President of the Republic, as Holder of Executive Power, aims to adapt it to the reality of the country’s current economic and social context and the economic and financial challenges faced by families and companies.
In the proposal, the province of Cabinda will have a single VAT incidence rate, in the order of 1%, taking into account the Special Regime in force in that region, due to geographic discontinuity.
The Proposed Law that Amends the Value Added Tax (VAT) Code was requested in an urgent process by the President of the Republic, as Holder of Executive Power, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic and the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly.
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