The Chairman of the Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI),
Omoniyi Moses Akinsiju, has said the proposed tax bills by the federal government are crucial for Nigeria’s long-term inclusive economic growth.
Akinsiju stated this on Saturday while addressing the press on the
ongoing economic reforms in the country, particularly the tax reform bills.
He emphasised the significance of these reforms, which aim to address three key areas: revenue generation, enterprise development, and enhancing citizens’ purchasing power.
Akinsiju criticised the controversy surrounding the tax bills, especially regarding the Value Added Tax (VAT) sharing formula, arguing that the reforms could lead to a more efficient and mutually beneficial fiscal relationship between the government and citizens.
He highlighted the reduction in company income taxes, which would benefit businesses, especially small companies, and create conditions for organic growth.
He further commended the Presidential Metering Initiative for tackling electricity metering issues, as well as efforts to boost Nigeria’s refining capacity through the Dangote refinery and the rehabilitation of existing refineries.
This is just as he projected that the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio could increase significantly, while encouraging public engagement with the bills at the National Assembly’s hearings, asserting that the tax reforms were necessary for a sustainable economic future.
“We have reviewed all four tax bills presently before the National Assembly, and after a historical and contextual analysis of the bills, we must admit our feeling of dismay at the unwarranted controversy that had been spurned around the bills.
“We consider this a needless distraction away from the economically redeeming attributes of the tax bills. These reforms, as coded in the bills, are pivoted on three functional pillars of critical growth drivers. These are revenue generation, enterprise development, and enhancement of citizens’ purchasing power.
“Indeed, this is the first time in the history of fiscal policy deployments in the country that the fiscal authorities will combine these three attributions in the tax law. Before now, tax laws were primarily focused on revenue generation without any consideration for enterprise development and citizens’ economic enablement through facilitating aggregate demand.
“Our submission regarding this tax credit is that the gas production sub-sector of the oil and gas sector of the economy will transform to a beehive of economic activity when the incentives are applied. This is another enterprise development attribution of the tax bills,” he added.
