Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele on Wednesday said many unnecessary taxes are created by government to fund criminals and make life complicated for the ordinary man.
Oyedele spoke while featuring as a guest on Channels TV programme ‘Sunrise Daily’ which was monitored by QUEST TIMES on the 30-day Quick Wins report.
Speaking on the objective of the committee, Oyedele said the committee was set up by President Bola Tinubu to develop a robust roadmap that will transform the economy of the country
According to him, the committee is working with state government to suspend many unnecessary taxes which are created just to provide money for criminals and make life unbearable for the common man. Such taxes according to him include wheelbarrow tax, bicycle tax, pure water levies and so on.
He said “I was at NEC at their last meeting and the governors were actually excited by those recommendations. One of it is that we can agree that we are suspending those taxes- wheelbarrow tax, bicycle tax, haulage tax and so on”.
“By the way, when we look at the data, we are making about 19 percent of our revenue, across all levels of government combined from less than 10 taxes. When you have about 200 taxes, you are just creating problem for everyone and funding criminals in my view”.
“So, we are saying to them ‘can you just agree with us? Because if we say we are suspending a tax, nobody can take us to court, but we can’t impose it on you until such a time we all agree and amend the constitution which will take some time”.
Oyedele added that the reforms being implemented by will bring huge relief to small business owners who are suffering as a result of multiple taxation across the country.
“So, what Nigerians should expect particularly if you are at the bottom of the ladder or a small business owner is a lot of relief. Some of those taxes should go away. We also want to look at the impediments beyond taxes, including over regulations”.
The Oyedele-led committee comprises experts from both the private and public sectors and has responsibility for the various aspects of tax law reform, fiscal policy design and coordination, harmonisation of taxes, and revenue administration.
It is also meant to promote the effective utilisation of tax and other revenues to boost citizens’ tax morale, foster a healthy tax culture, and drive voluntary compliance.