The Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee has said that it is working on a system that will provide tax relief to 95% of the informal sector of the economy in the country.
Chairman of the Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, stated this at the closing session of the committee on Sunday in Abuja. According to him, this would be achieved through the exemption of businesses earning N25 million a year or less from the various taxes hindering their progress over time.
Oyedele said the new reforms being proposed would focus on the top 5% of that sector, the middle class, and the elite for taxes. He said the committee was drafting the laws to effect the necessary changes in the fiscal policy and tax reform ecosystem of the country.
According to the chairman, the new laws will ensure that reviews become sustained by all governments coming in, adding that: “we don’t want this whole effort to go down the drain, after one or two years.”
On compliance, he urged all stakeholders to fully cooperate with the government in implementing a new fiscal and tax policy that would be used for the general good of the citizens.
He explained that some of the taxes complained about by Nigerians were those already in the constitution, which the committee had looked at and called for their review.
Speaking during the ceremony, Vice-President Kashim Shettima restated President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to revitalizing revenue generation in the country. According to him, the government aims to revitalize revenue generation in Nigeria, while sustaining an investment-friendly and globally competitive business environment.
However, he noted that contrary to speculations in some quarters, the government is not here to frustrate any sector of the economy but to create an administrative system that ensures the benefits of a thriving tax system for all its citizens.
Small businesses across Nigeria have struggled with multiple taxation either from different agencies of the federal government or similar kinds of taxes from different levels of government (federal, state, and local government).
Oyedele recently said that the committee was making recommendations to the state and local governments across the country to suspend “nuisance taxes” that don’t add value to the state’s coffers.
While many of the committee’s proposals seem to be in favour of small businesses and the informal sector to drive growth in economic activities, the implementation is still at the discretion of the government.