- Taiwo Oyedele highlighted Nigeria’s economic potential despite current challenges, citing a combined budget of N44 trillion for federal and state governments
- Oyedele advocated for consolidating and harmonizing taxes, emphasizing broad-based taxes and exemptions for low-income earners and small businesses
Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, characterized Nigeria as a country with significant potential for wealth despite its current economic status.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Oyedele pointed out the comparatively modest budgets of the Federal Government and Nigerian states. He highlighted that when combined, the total budget amounts to approximately N44 trillion, equivalent to around $30 billion.
“To put this into perspective, this $30 billion is less than Kenya’s budget of $32 billion and only a quarter of South Africa’s $130 billion budget. It’s even smaller than the budget of New York City alone, not even considering the entire state,” Oyedele explained.
He emphasized Nigeria’s potential for economic growth, attributing its current economic challenges to the disparity between potential wealth and current fiscal realities.
Responding to concerns about over-taxation in Nigeria, Oyedele dismissed introducing more taxes as a solution to the country’s revenue challenges. Instead, he advocated for consolidating and harmonizing existing taxes to make them more efficient and equitable.
“We believe that reducing the number of taxes, focusing on broad-based taxes that are easy to collect, and exempting low-income earners and small businesses is the way forward,” Oyedele stated. He proposed leveraging data, intelligence, and technology to close tax gaps and increase revenue by more than double within the next two to three years.
The committee’s approach aims to enhance fiscal sustainability while ensuring that tax policies support economic growth and alleviate burdens on vulnerable segments of society.
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