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Construction of CMG’s Copyright Trading Center starts in Shanghai

Published

5 years ago

August 24, 2020

I’m Robert Lawrence Kuhn, and here’s what I’m watching: President Xi Jinping’s
ecological civilization, 15 years on. It was on August 15, 2005, during his visit to Yucun Village, Anji County, Zhejiang Province, that then-secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Xi Jinping, remarked, “We used to say that we wanted lucid waters and lush mountains and that we also wanted mountains of gold and silver. In fact, lucid waters and lush mountains can be as precious as mountains of gold and silver.” Embodying a profound shift in China’s concept and model of development, these remarks constitute a signature statement of Xi’s theory of ecological progress and exemplify his thinking on national governance.

Unless China’s environment is cleaned up, the Chinese Dream cannot be fulfilled. The Chinese nation cannot be rejuvenated if its environment remains massively polluted. The challenge for China is how to motivate individuals and institutions to protect the environment. That’s why, in 2016, I went to Yucun Village, Anji County, located in Zhejiang’s northwestern, mountainous area, which has transformed itself from a polluted mining area into a “green center” of ecology-friendly agriculture, industry and tourism. How did it happen? Can it be emulated?

Here’s the backstory. Between 2003 and 2005, Anji County closed down three mining companies and one cement factory in Yucun, cutting the village’s annual GDP from over three million yuan to about 200,000 yuan, equivalent to less than 30,000 U.S. dollars, a calamitous drop of more than 90 percent. Its residents had to find replacements for their economic loss. Over time, a healthy, natural environment brought new fortune. Locals began making money in an eco-friendly way from the area’s rich resources of bamboo. Today, Yucun stands out as a rural scenic attraction visited by urbanites from Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing. The village has 280 households and a per capita income of about 50,000 yuan or about 7,000 U.S. dollars.

Early in his administration, President Xi elevated “green” to the highest level of national importance, as part of the Five Major Development Concepts. There are three core aspects of Xi’s theory of ecological civilization: First, natural environments are invaluable assets with roots in practice. Second, natural environments reflect a profound shift in China’s concept and model of development. Third, natural environments represent a response to people’s expectations for a better life.

In April of this year, President Xi returned to Yucun village, making the case that care for the environment provides rich economic dividends. “The environment itself means the economy,” he said. “If you protect the environment, you will receive rewards from the environment.”

I’m keeping watch. I’m Robert Lawrence Kuhn.

Scriptwriter: Robert Lawrence Kuhn

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Business

Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

Published

1 week ago

March 6, 2025

The Gleamer

Ismaila Ahmad Abdullahi Ph.D

The public hearings conducted recently by the two Chambers of the National Assembly have elicited positive responses from a broad spectrum of Nigerians, cutting across regional interest groups, government agencies, civil society groups, concerned individuals, the academia, and Labour Unions, among diverse others. Contrary to a few dissensions hitherto expressed in the media, almost all the stakeholders who spoke during the week-long sessions were unanimous in their declaration that the hallowed Chambers should pass the tax reform bills after a clean-up of the grey areas.

The public hearings were auspicious for all Nigerians desirous of economic growth and fiscal responsibility. They were also a watershed moment for the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which had been upbeat about the tax reforms. Indeed, the public hearings had rekindled hope in the tenets of democracy that guarantee freedom of expression and equitable space for cross-fertilisation of ideas. Without gainsaying the fact, the tax reform bills have been unarguably about the most thought-provoking issues in Nigeria today, drawing variegated perspectives and commentaries from even unlikely quarters such as the faith-based leaders, student bodies, and trade unions, which speaks much about the importance of the bills.

In the build-up to the public hearings, not many people believed that the bills would make it to the second reading, much less the public hearings. Even the Northern stakeholders who seemed unlikely to support the passage of the bills have softened their stance and have given valuable suggestions that would enrich the substance of the bills. The Arewa Consultative Forum came to the public hearings well-prepared with a printed booklet that addressed their concerns. It concluded with an advisory that the bills should be “Well planned, properly communicated, strategically implemented and ample dialogue and political consensus allowed for the reforms to be accepted.”

The concerns of ACF ranged from the composition of the proposed Nigeria Revenue Service Board as contained in Part 111, Section 7 of the bill, the unlimited Presidential power to exempt/wave tax payment as proposed in Section 75(1) of the bill, the family income or inheritance tax as contained in Part 1, Section 4(3) of the bill, to the issues around development levy and VAT. On the development levy, the ACF stated that unless the Federal Government is considering budgetary funding for TETFUND, NASENI and NITDA, it does not see the “wisdom behind the plan to replace (them) with NELFUND”.

The position of the North was equally reinforced by the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria, Northern Elders Forum, Kano State Government, Professor Auwalu Yadudu, and the FCT Imams. Like the ACF, these stakeholders lent their respective voices to the Section on the Inheritance Tax in Part 1 of the bill and the use of the term ‘ecclesiastical’, which, in their views, undermines certain religious rights and beliefs. The Kano State Government, represented by Mahmud Sagagi, affirmed that “we support tax modernisation” but cautioned that “we must ensure that this process does not come at the expense of states’ constitutional rights and economic stability”. Professor Auwalu Yadudu, a constitutional law professor, drew attention to the use of the ‘supremacy clause’ and cautioned that the repeated use of “notwithstanding” in the bills would undermine the supremacy of the Nigerian constitution if passed as such.

Other stakeholders that made contributions at the sessions included the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, and a host of others. While most of their concerns bordered on technical issues requiring fine-tuning, they were unanimous in their support for the bills. They aligned with the position of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, Ph.D. and the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, which is that the extant tax laws and fiscal regulations are obsolete necessitating reforms aimed at creating a fair and equitable tax and fiscal space to grow Nigeria’s economy.

In one of the sessions, Dr Zaach Adedeji expounded on the criss-cross of trade activities in the Free Trade Zone whereby companies misuse tax waivers as exporters to sell their goods or services in the Customs Area at an amount usually less than the price the operators in the Customs Area who pay VAT and other taxes sell theirs thereby disrupting business transactions. This way, the operators in the Free Trade Zone shortchange the government in paying their due taxes by circumventing extant regulations, which are inimical to the economy’s growth.

Overall, the presentations were forthright, foresighted, and helpful in elucidating the issues contained in the bills. According to the statistics read out at the end of the hearings at the Senate, 75 stakeholders were invited, 65 made submissions, and 61 made presentations. At the House of Representatives 53 stakeholders made presentations. By all means, this is a fair representation. Given the presentations, it is evident that the National Assembly has gathered enough materials to guide its deliberations on the bills. As we look forward to the passage of the bills, we commend the leadership of the National Assembly for their unwavering commitment to making the bills see the light of the day.

Abdullahi is the Director of the Communications and Liaison Department, FIRS.

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