Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, says that Nigeria will witness monumental development, if the nation gets her tax system right.
Receiving a delegation of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in his office in Abuja, the minister commended the leadership of CITN for the initiative of a National Tax Awareness Day and for supporting the tax reform of the federal government.
He charged the institute to do more because “many Nigerians still believe that when the government speaks about tax it is just to take money from the people”.
Oyedele explained that the government is not yet receiving enough tax revenue but that its focus is to expand the tax net, not increase the rate of taxes.
“We are still not getting enough revenues from tax, it is not about increasing tax, but making sure that those who are supposed to pay tax pay. We want to promote fairness in tax administration,” he stated.
In his remarks, the President and Chairman of Council, CITN, Mr. Innocent Ohagwa, who led the delegation, said: “Over the past year, we have observed numerous misconceptions surrounding the reforms. Some people believe the reforms introduced entirely new taxes on every aspect of economic activity.
“Others have assumed that the reforms were designed solely to increase government revenue without considering the welfare of taxpayers.
“Some business owners have expressed concerns about compliance obligations without fully understanding the reliefs and protections available to them, leading to confusion and unnecessary anxiety, due to conflicting information from social media.”
The CITN president also said that tax compliance was not a burden but a civic duty and a collective contribution to nation-building.
“And taxation works best when there is trust – taxpayers must fulfill their obligations, while the government must uphold accountability, transparency and the effective use of public resources” he added.
GIK/APA