Opadokun calls for efficient tax regime to boost revenue

Chief Ayo Opadokun, the Convener of the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms, on Tuesday called for an efficient tax regime to boost the nation’s revenue base.
Opadokun said in Lagos that the Federal Government should not hesitate to introduce any economic policy that would respond to the demands of the 21st century.
The CODER convener spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria.
According to him, tax payment is a way of diversifying the economy to address challenges.
Opadokun said: “The state of the economy is worrisome and cannot be sustained the way it is.
“Sensitisation should be intensified and an enabling environment created to ensure that the non-oil sector thrives.
“There is no more easy money from oil; the government needs to tighten its belt on tax issues though it will be difficult because Nigerian are not used to paying tax.”
Opadokun told NAN that the Office of the Federal Inland Revenue Service recently reported that only four per cent of wealthy Nigerians paid tax.
He said: “Nigeria’s tax contribution to the GDP is said to be the lowest in the world, about six per cent.”
Opadokun said that Nigerians did not want to pay tax for different reasons.
He further stated: “Some believe that the government provides little or no service to warrant them paying any tax because they provide power, water and other basic amenities by themselves.
“Some organisations just want to cheat even though they are making profits.”
He alleged that some organisations deducted taxes from their workers but failed to remit them to government coffers.
Opadokun said: “Some business organisations and individuals strike deals with revenue officers to pay little or no tax at all.
“Many of our rich people have even used different dubious tricks to hide their foreign lodgings to avoid paying due tax, going by Panama paper revelations.”
Opadokun said that Nigeria’s mono economy had led to neglect of other economic activities that could increase the revenue base of the country.
He said that the Lagos State Government should be emulated for scaling up its tax earning which had contributed immensely to the development of the state.
He said: “During Senator Bola Tinubu’s administration, tax consultants were remitting N600 million per month to the state government as collectable tax.
“But after computerising the state’s revenue system, reducing cash payment of government revenue to the barest minimum, in 2002, the government started collecting N2.5 billion per month.
“Today, the state government has been able to upscale its tax earning to a minimum of between N25 billion and N30 billion per month.”
NAN.