Nigeria's federal government has recently announced plans to simplify its tax system by significantly reducing the number of taxes from the current 62 to less than 10. Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, unveiled this decision during a presentation at the 53rd annual conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria in Abuja. Business Insider Africa reported on this development.
According to Oyedele, the existing 62 taxes spread across various government levels place an undue strain on Nigerian businesses and taxpayers. He also expressed concerns about the informal taxes collected nationwide by non-state actors empowered by the government. "At the federal level, the list is close to 16, at the state level 25, and Local Government 21. This doesn't even account for the over 108 informal taxes collected all over the place," he remarked.
Oyedele's goal is to bring the number of taxes down to a single digit and streamline revenue collection agencies to one for each government tier. This reform aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's ambition to elevate Nigeria's tax revenue from 11% of the GDP to 18% within three years.
This reform signifies Nigeria's commitment to creating a more business-friendly environment for Nigerians and the world. It has the potential to attract foreign investments and increase compliance, which could boost government revenue for infrastructural and social development.
