President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu has consented to the establishment of a Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.
Dele Alake, the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, that the committee will be chaired by Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Taiwo Oyedele.
Accordingly, the committee comprises experts from both the private and public sectors and will be responsible for various aspects of tax law reforms, fiscal policy design and coordination, harmonization of taxes and revenue administration.
The Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, Adelabu Zacch Adedeji, explained that President Tinubu recognizes the importance of a sound fiscal policy environment and an effective taxation system for the government’s and the economy’s functioning.
Adedeji outlined that the committee would address the key challenges in Nigeria’s tax system, including multiple taxes and revenue collection agencies, fragmented and complex tax system, low tax morale, high prevalence of tax evasion, high cost of revenue administration, lack of coordination between fiscal and economic policies, and poor accountability in the utilization of tax revenue.
“We aim to transform the tax system to support sustainable development and achieve a minimum of 18% Tax to GDP ratio within the next three years without stifling investment or economic growth”, he added.
Recall that on Thursday, Tinubu suspended the implementation of the 2023 Finance Act, telecoms, import and other taxes to create an enabling business environment.
