President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday inaugurated the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms in Abuja with experts from both the private and public sectors as members.
Tinubu in July approved the establishment of the committee chaired by Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Taiwo Oyedele.
The Special Adviser to the president on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, said the panel would be responsible for various aspects of tax law reforms, fiscal policy design and coordination, harmonisation of taxes, and revenue administration.
Alake said the committee’s primary objective is to enhance revenue collection efficiency, ensure transparent reporting, and promote the effective utilisation of tax and other revenues to boost citizens’ tax morale, foster a healthy tax culture, and drive voluntary compliance.
Also, Adelabu Adedeji, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Revenue, explained that President Tinubu recognised the importance of a sound fiscal policy environment and an effective taxation system for the functioning of the government and the economy, noting that Nigeria ranks very low on the global ease of paying taxes while the country’s tax to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio “is one of the lowest in the world and well below the African average”.
“This has led to an overreliance on borrowing to finance public spending which in turn limits the fiscal space as debt service costs consume a greater portion of government revenue, annually resulting in a vicious cycle of inadequate funding for socio-economic development,” he said.
“While some incremental progress has been recorded over the years, the outcomes have not been transformative enough to change the narrative,” TheCable reports.
