The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria has advised the Federal Government to implement palliatives for low-income earners.

The institute said this while reacting to the Federal Government’s $800m World Bank loan.

It advised the government on the need to introduce credible palliatives to cushion the impact on the most vulnerable population beyond the civil service in an 11-point action-plan communiqué.

ICAN said the government should rather use savings from the subsidy removal of palliatives.

It stated that,

“The government needs to introduce credible palliatives to cushion the impact on the most vulnerable population beyond the civil service. In this regard, the government should design and implement palliatives for low-income earners especially in cities and towns where the cost of living will rise much higher.

“It should introduce policies that will bring down the cost of transportation and food. Palliatives should be implemented at both the national and sub-national levels. Care should be taken to measure the cost of palliatives to be introduced to avoid re-introducing another form of subsidy.

“This is where chartered accountants are needed. We do not support the borrowing of $800m for palliatives when the savings from the subsidy removal can be used for this purpose, saving the country from further debt and rising debt service costs.”

The chartered accountants added that, for SMEs, a palliative may be to put on hold the recently introduced tax increases, while granting tax rebates and investing in infrastructure.