Daily Post

[Mergerberger II]

Government Votes to Raise Corporate Tax

 

ABUJA - Today, President Yayi Boni signed a bill raising the tax rate on corporations from 28% to 35%. The bill passed the House of the People by an overwhelming majority of 424-76, including all of the Social Democratic Party, all of the Left Party, and an overwhelming majority of the Guinean National Party and the Igbo National Party. 

 

John Adeyemi, leader of the Social Democratic Party and author of the bill, has said that this bill is, "Necessary to protect the interests of the Guinean people."

 

It raises the cost of operations in Guinean sovereign territory for foreign companies as well, from 24% of total revenue to 35% of total revenue earned from Guinean operations. 

 

More specifically, it targets the oil companies operating in the Gulf of Guinea. It levies a 40% tax on all oil and gas exploration in Guinea.

 

However, it also provides incentive to domestic corporations' drilling operations, raising the tax on new oil and gas exploration for a Guinean corporation to only 32%.

 

As all land is owned by the government, corporations and residents are required to pay a tax for what they wish to use the land for. Some, like family farms and tribal villages, is tax-free, while others, such as oil and gas exploration are taxed.

 

"We regret this disincentive to businesses," CEO of Nigerian Gas & Oil Co, a Lagusa-based corporation, "it will surely push business away and jobs will go with it."

 

Nigerian Gas & Oil Co. is the largest oil company in Nigeria and the fourth-largest in the world. When asked about the NGO response, Adeyemi said, "I'm sure they will get along fine with a little less than their record profits they posted last year."

 

NGO posted record revenues of $450 billion and record profits of $18 billion last year. 

[Mergerberger II]

[b]Suicide Bomber Attacks Lagos[/b]

 

LAGOS - A suicide bomber detonated in the middle of Lagos Island in the largest city in the nation, Lagos, today, killing upwards of 40 people and injuring about 100 others.

 

It is reported by witnesses that the man shouted "Allahu Akbar" before detonating the bomb strapped to his chest, a phrase that has become almost synonymous with Islamic terrorism.

 

The attack is widely believed to be linked to Boko Haram, a fundamentalist Islamic terror group based somewhere in Nigeria, due to the group's past history and notable terror activity within Guinea.

 

The group, whose name roughly translates to 'Western education is a sin', has neither claimed nor denied responsibility for the acts, has waged a brutal war of terror for years against what they view as a 'corrupt, fascist government of sinners'.

 

It is unclear who exactly committed this crime, but the government has issued a statement that "they will be found and brought to justice for their crimes." Boko Haram was also cited by the government as the most likely group for involvement in these acts.