Chairman, Heirs Holdings and Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Tony O.
\nElumelu has called for far reaching Tax reforms and for the National
\nAssembly to urgently pass the Executive Tax bill into law.<\/p>\n
Elumelu made this statement as he delivered the keynote address at the
\n21st Annual Tax Conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of
\nNigeria (CITN), titled, \u201cNational Development: Unlocking the Potentials
\nof Taxation\u201d.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the challenges that stifle small businesses, Elumelu quoted
\na young entrepreneur beneficiary of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, \u201cThe
\naverage business owner in Nigeria is a local government authority on his
\nown because he caters for his own electricity with generators, he builds
\nhis own borehole, handles his own waste disposal, and the government can
\nmake his life easier by creating favourable tax policies that support
\nSMEs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elumelu also lamented the plight of SMEs at the mercy of the tax system
\nrevealing, \u201cThe average number of taxes businesses pay in Nigeria is 48,
\ncompared to 33 in other Sub-Saharan countries. In Hong Kong, it’s just
\n3. Multiple taxation remains a significant burden for SMEs and corporate
\norganizations operating in the country.\u201d Elumelu continued: \u201cWith a
\npopulation of close to 200 million people in Nigeria, we have only
\n75,000 registered SMEs in the country. No one needs to tell us that
\npeople are avoiding tax or refusing to be a part of the system,\u201d he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
With high cost of compliance, complex and costly business registration
\nprocesses, many SMEs are choosing to remain informal, which in turn
\nresults in a low tax base and low tax contribution to GDP. \u201cNigeria\u2019s
\ntax to GDP ratio is only circa 6%, compared to far smaller populations
\nlike Rwanda at 16%. Imagine the economic transformation we can achieve
\nas a country if we can move our Tax to GDP ratio by 10%. We will raise
\nan additional $40billion in government revenue – identical to the sum of
\nour foreign reserves,\u201d Elumelu explained.<\/p>\n
But it won\u2019t be easy. Elumelu advised government to educate, inform and
\nraise tax awareness, \u201cGovernment should drive mass mobilisation of
\ncitizens – let citizens know why they need to pay taxes and give them
\nthe assurance that their tax will be properly utilised.\u201d In addition he
\nstated that, \u201cgovernment should employ the use of smart tax incentives
\nto attract and incentivise local and foreign investors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elumelu also tasked the country\u2019s ambassadors and embassies with a two
\nyear timeline to increase the number of double tax treaties between host
\ncountries and Nigeria.\u00a0 \u201cNigeria has 14 taxation treaties while a
\ncountry like South Africa has 79 double taxation treaties, and we are
\nthe largest economy in Africa. Our embassies should adopt a target in
\nthe next two years to sign Tax treaties with our\u00a0 top 100 trading
\npartners in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking as the leading proponent of entrepreneurship in Africa and an
\nadvocate for entrepreneurs, Elumelu charged government to put in place
\ntax systems to encourage SMEs-\u2014 the engine for job creation in the
\neconomy.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil there is a reduction in what SMEs pay as tax, elimination of
\nmultiple taxation, abolition of minimum income tax and excess dividend
\ntax, it will be difficult for us to expand the tax base. It will be
\ndifficult for us to attract investors into this country, and it will be
\ndifficult for us to retain the ones already in the country. It will be
\ndifficult for us to mobilise our SMEs to help create employment that we
\nneed so much in this country. It will be difficult for us to have the
\ncitizens hold leaders accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n
In conclusion, he reminded the National Assembly members of their
\nmandate in office, \u201cWe must encourage government to pass the Executive
\nBill immediately. Let\u2019s get the National Assembly to fulfill their
\nobligation to society and pass the bill immediately, so we can start
\nmaking progress\u201d.<\/p>\n
Speaking in response to the presentation, Former President of the
\nChartered Institute of Taxation in Nigeria, Chief Mark Anthony Dike
\nemphasized the urgency for the Executive Tax bill to be passed into law.
\nHe said: \u201cEvery year during the military regime, there was a Finance
\nMiscellaneous Provision Decree aimed at looking at what has happened and
\nreview the areas that need to be amended. As they say, the taste of the
\npudding is in the eating. We may conceptualise, but in order to know the
\nefficacy of a theory, we have to test it. Until the provision of the
\nExecutive order is tested, we cannot know how efficacious it will be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also present at the event were Dr. Ikemefuna Nwobodo, President,
\nChartered Institute of Taxation in Nigeria,Permanent Secretary, Ministry
\nof Finance, Dr. Mahmud Isa-Dutse, Babatunde Fowler, Executive Chairman,
\nFederal Internal Revenue Service, Ayo Subair, Chairman, Lagos Internal
\nRevenue Services, Members of the council of CITN and the Auditor General
\nof the Federation, Mr. Anthony Ayine.<\/p>\n
Chairman, Heirs Holdings and Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Tony O. Elumelu has called for far reaching Tax reforms and for the National Assembly to urgently pass the Executive Tax bill…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":64367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n