Taiwo Oyedele, the chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, has proposed exempting poor and vulnerable individuals from taxes, stating that increasing taxation is unnecessary for boosting revenue. During an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Oyedele criticized the current taxation approach, saying,
“The system we have today is trying to tax everything and everybody. If it moves, tax it; if it moves again, tax it even more.”
Oyedele highlighted the plight of small vendors, such as those selling sachets of water, who struggle to earn a modest income of N800 to N1,000 daily, only to be burdened with multiple daily levies.
READ ALSO: https://thecrux.com.ng/kano-battles-heatwaves-with-three-million-tree-planting-initiative/
He noted that truckers transporting goods between states face exorbitant fees, sometimes exceeding N450,000 per trip.
This excessive taxation, according to Oyedele, contributes to significant inflation disparities between rural and urban areas. He argued that Nigeria could increase its revenue without raising taxes by leveraging data, intelligence, and technology to close the tax gap, ensuring those who should be paying taxes are doing so while exempting the poor and small businesses. Oyedele emphasized the need for a streamlined, broad-based tax system that is easy to collect and does not disproportionately impact low-income earners.
