FG drafts new tax regulation, awaits lawmakers’ approval

The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has said that his committee has drafted a new tax regulation, which will amend existing laws.

Speaking recently at a stakeholders’ forum organised by the Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria in Lagos, he said that there is an emergency bill, which awaits the approval of lawmakers in the country.

“We have drafted a new tax regulation. The only reason why it hasn’t been published is that some of the things we included will amend the existing laws, so we put the amendment in the emergency bill waiting for the lawmakers to pass, so we can then issue the regulation.”

The goal is to provide comprehensive tax reforms that would enhance economic growth and ease the burden on businesses.

Oyedele also noted that Nigeria can easily earn N10 trillion annually via efficient management of its non-oil assets.

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He added that the country’s non-oil assets, estimated to be around N80 trillion and N100 trillion, are yet to get sufficient attention and are mismanaged.

“We found out that other than oil when you are talking about assets. Some estimates, although still working on it, show something in the region of N80 to N100tn scattered all over the place. We haven’t shown any care at all as a country about those assets such that they have been mismanaged.

“We also found an asset worth trillions of naira, and someone even dared to register a company with the Corporate Affairs Commission to hold those assets and the shareholders are still in this same Nigeria.”

According to Oyedele, improving asset management and selling underperforming assets can help generate liquidity and stimulate economic growth.

Oyedele earlier stressed the need to reduce the number of taxes in the country from about 62 to less than 10, as existing taxes imposed a heavy burden on Nigerian business operators.

It was also disclosed that the Federal Government plans to tax wealthy Nigerians to achieve its 18% Tax-GDP ratio revenue target.

The presidential tax committee also plans to leverage technology to widen the tax net and boost revenue.

Oyedele earlier noted the Presidential Tax Committee has no plan to increase taxes, but to “harmonize revenue collection” and help reduce the tax burden.