The recent rebasing of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) suggests that the tax revenue to GDP ratio has reduced significantly from 22% to 12%, said Mark Anthony Dike, president, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN).
Briefing newsmen ahead of the institute’s 16th annual tax conference holding in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, with the theme ‘Achieving optimum tax compliance: challenges and sustainability’, Dike noted that there is a lot to be done to increase revenue generation to reach the required threshold.
According to him, the rebasing of GDP has shown that Nigeria’s tax reform efforts are not yet enough, noting further that most individuals in Nigeria are not paying taxes the way they should despite that they are amassing wealth to themselves.
“Tax has to be structured in accordance with the law not for fear or favour. Nigerians have attitudinal problem when it comes to payment of taxes. We must change this attitude for better days ahead,” he warned.
“This has to be addressed as a matter of urgency for the statistics to reflect in the living conditions of Nigerians. We believe that the window for increased revenue generation is huge and must be tapped to bring all taxable citizens into the tax net, especially the informal sector,” he noted.
According to the CITN president, “We cannot embark on reforms without direction. The National Tax Policy document adequately provides a direction for the Nigerian tax system. What exneeds to be done is for government to ensure that the document does not remain a mere article that is rarely referred to. As a matter of concern and urgency, every policy as it relates to the Nigerian tax system should flow from the National Tax Policy document.”
Dike insisted that National Tax Policy covers a whole lot of pertinent issues including the hydra-headed issues of multiple taxations, increasing tax compliance, taxation of the informal sector, and creating a reliable database of tax payers.
