Chairman of UBA Group, Tony Elumelu, has called for far reaching tax reforms and for the National Assembly to urgently pass the executive tax bill into law.
Elumelu made this call while delivering a keynote address at the 21st Annual Tax Conference of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN).
In the address titled “National Development: Unlocking the Potentials of Taxation”, Mr Elumelu quoted a young entrepreneur beneficiary of the Tony Elumelu Foundation who became his own local government authority as he caters for his electricity with generators, builds his own borehole, handles his own waste disposal among others.
“The government can make his life easier by creating favourable tax policies that support SMEs,” Elumelu said.
He continued: “With a population of close to 200 million people in Nigeria, we have only 75,000 registered SMEs in the country. No one needs to tell us that people are avoiding tax or refusing to be a part of the system.
“Until there is a reduction in what SMEs pay as tax, elimination of multiple taxation, abolition of minimum income tax, and excess dividend tax, it will be difficult for us to expand the tax base. It will be difficult for us to attract investors into this country, and it will be difficult for us to retain the ones already in the country.
“It will be difficult for us to mobilise our SMEs to help create employment that we need so much in this country. It will be difficult for us to have the citizens hold leaders accountable.”
Elumelu also tasked the National Assembly to “fulfil their obligation to society and pass the bill immediately, so we can start making progress.”
