A financial expert, Mr Babatunde Salami, has said that the new federal tax reform Bills would solve the country’s problem of multiple taxation.
He added that the tax reform Bills would increase tax nets and bases in the country.
Salami, a former regional manager at First Bank PLC, spoke during an interview with LEADERSHIP in Ilorin, Kwara State.
He described the tax reform Bills as progressive, saying that they would exempt those who earn less than N1 million annually from paying tax, while those who earn above N1 million would pay tax on a progressive basis from 7% to 24%.
He explained that the new tax bills would also allow small businesses earning less than N50 million annually to become tax-exempt, adding, “This would allow small-scale businesses and companies to thrive in the country.”
“For individuals earning less than N1 million annually, you are exempted from paying tax, and progressively, if you go above N1 million, your tax will start from 7% upward. Companies that earn less than N50 million annually are also exempted from paying taxes. This provides avenues for companies to continue to thrive in the country. We will no longer have the perennial problem of multiple taxation as everything will be unified rather than different entities doing the collection.
“Nigeria is getting only 6% of tax from commercial activities in the country compared to South Africa, which is 22%. The new reform will help to increase the tax base,” he added.
Regarding the country’s raging cash shortage, Salami blamed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for not being proactive enough to control the situation.
“The CBN is to be blamed. They are the supervisory organ and need to be proactive by visiting banks to see what is happening with them. They can ask the banks to open their respective vaults and check if they hoard cash. The CBN, as the supervisory organ, needs to sanction the banks that are found to be hoarding cash, ” he said.
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