The Joint Tax Board notes that it has developed a policy that will ensure politicians pay their taxes rightly. It says that several Nigerians who make room for the payment of taxes even from their little earnings expressed their dissatisfaction over the fact that politicians who earn heavy salaries and allowances, only surge to pay the insignificant rates to amass Tax Clearance Certificates as Voting activities take place.
On Wednesday, Mrs. Nana-Aisha Obomegie, the Executive Secretary of JTB, revealed this at a seminar tagged ‘Critical Tax Reforms for Shared Prosperity’, headed by Nigerian Economic Summit Group.
She emphasized that Nigeria wouldn’t make any progress without an enhanced tax acquisition policy, she further added that even with the nation’s population, its tax to Gross Domestic Product ratio languished even worse than what it was at about six percent, described in relation to the 18 percent average in Africa.
She guaranteed that when the tax policy is enacted, which a board has already been established, would encourage the easy and right collection of taxes from both politicians and non-political, that no one will have any excuse to defy the policy.
The Joint Tax Board was set up to ensure uniformity of standards and application of Personal Income Tax in Nigeria, and it comprises the chairman, who is the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Muhammad Nami, and a representative from each state.
Obomeghie noted, ‘There is resistance to pay tax in Nigeria. When you go out to collect these taxes, people ask you certain questions that you cannot even answer, especially about political office holders. People tell us, for example, that lawmakers earn millions but that you are trying to collect tax from them to pay the politicians.’
The policy would help ensure that every citizen is on the same page when it comes to payment of tax and no one, irrespective of their status would not be left out of the quest to help Nigeria with the tax collection scheme.