Dailyreport
Getting people to pay taxes
President Bola Tinubu is fulfilling some of his campaign pledges in a number of ways, but the people are suffering as a result. Every major presidential contender made a commitment to stop paying petrol subsidies, which Tinubu fulfilled from the first day of his administration.Getting people to pay taxes
Additionally, he ran on a platform of “widening the tax net.” His resolve to improve Nigeria’s tax regulations is demonstrated by his sponsorship of four tax reform bills in the National Assembly: the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Establishment Bill.
Northern governors opposed Tinubu’s efforts to promote justice and equity in the allocation of the Value-Added Tax’s profits using the derivation principle because they believed it would deny them numerous unfair advantages they had long enjoyed. Members of the National Assembly have the chance to avoid political diversion and consider the tax reform proposal on its merits because Tinubu has refused to remove it as requested.
Since the tax reform project is beneficial to our overall economic development, we renew our support for it. It is a noble sacrifice that the Federal Government is cutting its share of the VAT from 15% to 10%. The change also aims to exempt people making N70,000 or less per month from paying taxes, while taxing the wealthy up to a maximum of 25% of their revenues. By rewarding derivation, or the location of the vatable transaction, the VAT component also seeks to remove the long-standing practice of sending VAT revenues to jurisdictions that forbid the purchase of particular goods because of cultural and religious reluctance.
There must be no gain for those who abstain from consumption. That’s justice and equity! We urge our federal legislators to expedite the passage of these laws.
The concern that still needs to be addressed, notwithstanding the admirable goals of the tax reforms, is what all levels of government do with the monthly federal allocations they receive as well as the tax income. These funds belong to the people. Regretfully, it appears that our politicians are unaware of this basic reality.
In a democracy like ours, elected officials hold power—including control over the public coffers—in trust for the people. Following all of the squabbling over these tax legislation, we want to make sure that the money raised is appropriately allocated to public infrastructure, agriculture, education, health care, security, and social safety nets for the weak and impoverished. The so-called “dividends of democracy” are these.
Politicians should no longer be given complete control over public spending decisions. Since the Legislative Arm appears to have been paid off by the Executive, we must demand accountability.
We need our money to work for us!
