The Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on revenue, Zacch Adedeji, has revealed that the Federal Government is working on reducing the number of taxes paid in the country to 10.
Adedeji said this on Saturday during the second edition of the lecture series organised by the 1988 class of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos.
The theme of the lecture is, ‘Revenue, challenges and opportunities in Nigeria today’.
The presidential aide, who is a former Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Sugar Development Council, stated that there were currently 52 taxes being collected in the country which is impacting the efficiency of the collection.
He said, “We collect 52 taxes as a nation. I have not seen any country in the world where they collect that much tax across the different levels of government.
“We want to enhance revenue generation without putting too much burden on citizens or stifling our economy. We will do this by collapsing and harmonising taxes to enhance revenue without introducing new taxes.”
Adedeji added, “After harmonising the taxes, we will only have ten taxes that will be universal, one of which will be on betting.”
Tinubu’s special assistant also said that revenue collection by regulatory bodies had not been favourable to the FG.
He said that with the policy thrust of the Tinubu administration, regulatory bodies will focus on their jobs and revenue will be collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which is to be renamed Nigeria Revenue Service.
“We will harmonise taxes, unify revenue agencies, and let regulators focus on regulation. If you cannot count your money, you cannot allocate and if you can’t allocate, you can’t manage. This is something we are making a priority,” he added.
Adedeji is one of the first eight special advisers recently appointed by President Tinubu.
The organisers described the lecture series as a platform for “mutual engagement between critical individuals in the private and public sectors and the alumni.”
The first lecture on retirement planning held on April 1, 2023, was given by the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka.
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