The Chairman of the presidential committee on Fiscal Policy and Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele has asserted that the federal government of Nigeria under President Bola Tinubu is not planning to recruit “Area boys”, as tax collectors as being speculated.
Oyedele offered this clarification on Sunday via his official X account.
The presidential committee chairman clarified reports making the rounds that his committee planned to recruit Area boys for tax collection.
According to him, what he said during an interview on Channels Television was taken out of context, noting that one “cannot recruit a person to do the job they are already doing”.
He explained that he advocated the promotion of tax harmonization and the elimination of multiple levies for ease of doing business.
“The issue I addressed during my interview on Channels TV, which has been sensationalized and taken out of context, was how to get the buy-in of those who currently collect these taxes (and benefit from doing so beyond whatever they are being paid officially). I did not mention any words like recruit or employ”, he said.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that Oyedele had said the federal government plans to suspend multiple taxation to boost the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
He said the committee was working to ensure Nigerians start feeling the direct impact of its tax reforms, adding that it will propose a single tax window to ease multiple taxation in Nigeria’s import and export of goods and services.
“We are trying to work on the implementation mechanism to transmit the policy into real impact. We are not waiting for the tax policy instrument to be out.
“One of which, we are asking the state and local governments to suspend nuisance taxes. We are already meeting with the governors.
“We have seen 73 taxes just to transport one goods from the North to the South. 2500 to 3000, this is annoying. You wonder how things like this come to be.
“It is painful that Nigerians are not benefiting from these taxes.
“Export and import is a major area for our committee. This is because it impacts the economy and international trade. We have been speaking with customs and stakeholders, and there are many issues within the government’s purview to address.
“We are simplifying the process of export and importing through a single window of tax payment”, he said.
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Oyedele and other members to revamp the country’s tax sector.