President Bola Tinubu, on Friday, approved the establishment of a presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms and has appointed Taiwo Oyedele to chair the committee.
Oyedele is the fiscal policy partner and Africa tax leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC, a network of firms in 152 countries that offers business advisory services such as auditing, accounting, taxation, strategy management, and human resource consulting services.
Announcing the development in a statement, Dele Alake, special adviser to the President on special duties, communications and strategy, said the establishment of the committee is in line with President Tinubu’s promise to remove all barriers impeding the growth of businesses in Nigeria.
On his part, the special adviser to the President on revenue, Adelabu Adedeji, explained that the establishment of the committee reflects President Tinubu’s commitment to addressing the enormous challenges in Nigeria’s tax system and bringing about transformative reforms in fiscal policy and taxation.
Adedeji identified the challenges to include multiple taxes and revenue collection agencies, fragmented and complex tax system, low tax morale, high prevalence of tax evasion, high cost of revenue administration, lack of coordination between fiscal and economic policies, and poor accountability in the utilisation of tax revenue.
“Nigeria ranks very low on the global ease of paying taxes while the country’s tax to GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the world and well below the African average,” the SA on revenue said.
”This has led to an overreliance on borrowing to finance public spending which in turn limits the fiscal space as debt service costs consume a greater portion of government revenue, annually resulting in a vicious cycle of inadequate funding for socio-economic development.
”While some incremental progress has been recorded over the years, the outcomes have not been transformative enough to change the narrative. Our aim is to transform the tax system to support sustainable development and achieve a minimum of 18 per cent tax to GDP ratio within the next three years without stifling investment or economic growth.”
Adedeji noted that the committee’s primary objective is to enhance revenue collection efficiency, ensure transparent reporting, and promote the effective utilisation of tax and other revenues to boost citizens’ tax morale, foster a healthy tax culture, and drive voluntary compliance.
These, according to him, will not only improve Nigeria’s revenue profile but also create a more conducive and internationally-competitive business environment.
”It should be noted that this committee will not only advise the government on necessary reforms but will also drive the implementation of such recommendations in support of the comprehensive fiscal policy and tax reform agenda of the current administration,” he added.
The presidential committee will comprise experts from both the private and public sectors and have responsibility for the various aspects of tax law reform, fiscal policy design and coordination, harmonisation of taxes, and revenue administration.
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