The Federal Executive Council is proposing an amendment to the National Identity Management Commission Act No. 23, 2007 to allow for foreigners living in the country to be issued the National Identification Number.

The FEC, on Wednesday, also proposed the Economy Stabilisation Bill to pave the way for the taxing of foreigners living and working in Nigeria.

The two proposed legislation are aimed to “expand the scope of registrable persons to include foreign individuals with the taxable presence or taxable source of income in Nigeria, and make provisions for the mandatory use of National Identification Number for transactions which are relevant for tax administration, and for related matters.”

The government proposes a new paragraph to Section 16, which reads, “Any person, whether or not he is a citizen of Nigeria, who is deemed to be resident or otherwise subject to tax in Nigeria under any legislation in force in Nigeria.”

If passed into law, the new bill would see expatriates and income-earning immigrants being taxed.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, revealed this while briefing State House Correspondents at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.

Onanuga explained that, “If the National Assembly passes that bill, it provides that everybody living in Nigeria, including foreigners, will now be registered and given NIN.

“Once you are doing some work here and earning income, you will be registered and given an NIN so that you can be taxed.

“Your NIN will give you your tax identity, and you can also be taxed and come under our tax structure. The law that set up the NIMC initially precludes foreigners from being registered.”

The presidential aide announced a third bill seeking to amend the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Act No.17, 2007, to “provide for the payment of fees and other charges in naira to improve the ease of doing business and for related matters.”

It amends Section 15 by adding a new subsection (2), which says, “All fees, charges, levies, fines and other monies accruing and payable to the Agency under this Act may be paid in Naira at the applicable official exchange rate.”

Onanuga explained, “Hitherto, these agencies were charging in dollars, but now they can always collect it in Naira. This government wants to put a lot of emphasis on our national currency instead of everything being dollarised in our economy. The government is now saying, ‘pay in Naira. Everything doesn’t have to be in dollars.’”

Investing platform, Risevest today notified users of the shuttering of its virtual card, effective from the 30th of September.

In an email sent to users, Risevest blamed the shutdown on the challenges with the card providers, “fluctuating exchange rates, and delays in issue resolution”.

Risevest disclosed that funds left on the cards after the shutdown will be automatically transferred to Rise wallet after the service ends.

The United States (US) department of justice (DoJ) has filed a lawsuit against Visa, accusing the company of illegally monopolising the debit card market.

In a statement on Tuesday, the justice department said the monopolisation violates Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, adding that the lawsuit was filed in the US district court for the southern district of New York.

The DoJ alleged that Visa illegally maintains a monopoly over debit network markets by using its dominance to thwart the growth of its existing competitors and prevent others from developing new and innovative alternatives.

“According to the complaint, more than 60 percent of debit transactions in the US run on Visa’s debit network, allowing it to charge over $7 billion in fees each year for processing those transactions,” the justice department said.

“The complaint further alleges that Visa illegally maintains its monopoly power by insulating itself from competition.

“For example, Visa wields its dominance, enormous scale, and centrality to the debit ecosystem to impose a web of exclusionary agreements on merchants and banks.

“These agreements penalize Visa’s customers who route transactions to a different debit network or alternative payment system.

“In so doing, the complaint alleges, Visa locks up debit volume, insulates itself from competition, and smothers smaller, lower-priced competitors.

“Visa also induces would-be competitors to become partners instead of entering the market as competitors by offering generous monetary incentives and threatening punitive additional fees.

“As the complaint alleges, Visa coopted the competition because it feared losing share, revenues, or being displaced by another debit network altogether.”

‘CUSTOMERS PAID THE PRICE FOR VISA’S MONOPOLY’

Also, Merrick Garland, US attorney-general, alleged that Visa has unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market.

“Merchants and banks pass along those costs to consumers, either by raising prices or reducing quality or service. As a result, Visa’s unlawful conduct affects not just the price of one thing – but the price of nearly everything,” Garland said.

Benjamin Mizer, principal deputy associate attorney-general, said anticompetitive conduct by corporations like Visa leaves the American people and the entire economy worse off.

“Today’s action against Visa reminds those who would stifle competition rather than competing on price or investing in innovation that the Justice Department will never hesitate to enforce the law on behalf of the American people,” Mizer said.

Doha Mekki, principal deputy assistant attorney-general of the DoJ’s antitrust division, said Visa fears competition and innovation, opting instead for unlawful cooperation and monopolisation.

Mekki said the lawsuit holds Visa accountable for its conduct in a market that forms the backbone of American commerce.

“Visa abuses its power over its customers and buys off would-be rivals at the expense of American consumers, merchants, banks, and the competitive process itself,” Mekki said.

‘WE SEEK TO RESTORE COMPETITION TO MARKET THROUGH LAWSUIT’

The justice department said Visa’s practices have led to billions of dollars in additional fees for American consumers and businesses while slowing innovation in the debit payment market.

DoJ said through the lawsuit, it seeks to restore competition to the market on behalf of the American public.

“Visa maintains enormous scale on both sides of the debit market — with merchants and their banks and with consumers and their banks — and the complaint alleges that Visa’s exclusionary practices extend, deepen, and protect what it refers to as an “enormous moat” around its business,” the department said.

“When faced with the possibility that smaller debit networks or new technology entrants would threaten that position, Visa engaged in a deliberate and reinforcing course of conduct to cut off competition and prevent rivals from gaining the scale, share, and data necessary to compete for customers’ business.”

In 2020, the justice department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to stop Visa from acquiring Plaid, a technology company that powers fintech apps developing disruptive options for online debit payments.

The companies abandoned their planned $5.3 billion merger.