Hon. Sadiq Tafida calls on House of Reps to withhold Proposed Tax Increase.

 

Member representing Jalingo Yorro and Zing federal constituency, Hon. Sadiq Abbas Tafida has called on the house  to withhold the increase of Taxes and advocate for 

In his contribution to the debate on the New Ngeria Tax Bills, Hon. Sadiq Abbas Tafida has called the attention of the sponsors of the bill, the House and the Presidency that rather than increasing the Value Added Tax, the Bills should be amended to focus on increasing the Tax Base by Formalising the Informal economy of our country which stands at 58.8%. This number should come down to atleast 25%.

The major reason for this tax reforms is the fact that Nigeria's Revenue to GDP Ratio is a meagre 9.4%, and the ratio of actual VAT revenues to potential VAT (Value Added Tax ) revenue is only about 20%. meaning we are only collecting about 20% of what we could have been collecting.

We should first increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the overal tax collection mechanism, we should fast-track the modernisation and automation of VAT registration, filing,returns and payments.

If we remember, this current administration effected several policies within the past two years.

The administration has removed the Fuel Subsidy and also floated the Naira against the dollar.

Those policies have sent shock waves and caused economic hardship around the country, 

Therefore in my opinion it is only proper, to allow Nigerians a breathing space before more austere policies are effected.

I recommend that, the Tax Bills should first focus on the reorganisation of Tax Administration and only forward more bills on increasing the VAT after we have seen significant improvement in our Revenues and C-Ratios..