The federal government has announced its intention to simplify the from 52 to 10. The goal behind this move is to enhance efficiency and accountability.
Zacch Adedeji, the special adviser to the president on revenue, disclosed this during the virtual TOPAZ 88 second lecture series titled “Revenue Challenges and Opportunities in Nigeria Today.”
Adedeji highlighted that the current issue of multiple taxations has led to difficulties in tax compliance and reduced trust in tax payments within Nigeria.
He said: “What the federal government is doing right now is to ensure that the poor breathe. This administration aims to tax prosperity and not poverty and tax the fruit, not the seed.
“This is why, in the coming days when the tax committee is constituted, we will ensure that we streamline our taxes from 52 to 10 because we have realised that it is very difficult to have compliance due to so many taxes.
“What we want to do now is to ensure that regulators focus on regulations while agencies in charge of tax collections will collect. For instance, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) collects 3 per cent freight duty, but it is not their duty. Their duty is to secure the waterways. The collection of freights is the sole responsibility of the Nigerian Ports Authority. This is the reason we have leakages because we don’t know how much we have.
“However, if we streamline and harmonise these taxes, we will know how much we have and then we can effectively utilise them.”
The presidential adviser further disclosed that after the Senate establishes its standing committees, there will be a renaming of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to the Nigerian Revenue Service.
The reason behind this name change is to centralize all taxes owed to the federal government under a single authority, avoiding any duplications and making the federal government solely responsible for tax collection.
