The Federal Government had recently announced its plan to increase VAT from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent.
The Coalition of United Political Parties on Tuesday said it has through one of its alliance party members, Action Peoples Party, commenced legal action in the Federal High Court over the increase in Valued Added Tax and other policies allegedly capable of unleashing sufferings on Nigerians.
The Federal Government had recently announced its plan to increase VAT from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent.
Spokesperson for the CUPP, Mr Imo Ugochinyere, in a statement said the suit was aimed at bringing succour to Nigerians.
According to him, the Federal High Court presided over by Justice Ekwo Ekwo of Court 5 has since commenced hearing in the litigation.
He said, “We have asked the Federal High Court to determine three questions and we are optimistic that they will all be answered in our favour as they are all issues of law and public interest.
“For a government to clearly go outside the direct provisions of the law just to inflict suffering on citizens and tax them out of existence is condemnable, arbitrary, undemocratic, tyrannical, capricious, oppressive, cruel and indeed must be rejected and resisted.
“Is it not worrisome that a government that has failed for six months to implement a new minimum wage regime which would have barely lifted the purchasing power of workers has since that time increased VAT, agreed to return toll gates, embarked on unbridled borrowing, increased electricity tariff without commensurate increase in electricity supply, uses a quarter of the budget to service debts and impose other economic policies and wicked taxes all aimed at tightening the economic space of the common citizen while they live in affluence and extravagance including abandoning governance to unelected hands and junketing from one foreign country to another.”