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The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, has expressed government’s readiness to ensure policies promote successful implementation of tax reforms through the Finance Act 2020 aside that revenue generating entities have resilient systems for continuous operation amidst lockdown.
In a statement, yesterday, Ahmed also pledged government’s commitment to exercising fiscal prudence and ensuring that taxpayers and citizens get value from the nation’s wealth.
The finance minister said this at the third edition of the Telecommunications and Technology Sustainability Working Group (TTSWG) industry webinar on the theme, Fast-tracking Economic Recovery through Robust Tax Policies and Practices.
Ahmed also noted that the Nigerian economic sustainability plan includes policies to rationalise tax expenditures, and incentives to recover unremitted funds by government owned enterprises and unlock value for government assets that are under utilized.
This keynote address kick started discussions led by expert speakers drawn from both the telecoms and technology industries as well as government agencies on the need for public and private partnership to initiate and sustain favourable tax policies. Discussants from the public sector argued that taxation is the basic source of revenue for the government as evident in every thriving economy but was neglected for many years due to the funds derived from crude oil. Consequently, the fall in the price of crude oil coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need to prioritise taxation, and for businesses from all sectors just like individual citizens, to live up to the civic duty of prompt payment of correct taxes.
Whilst concluding her remarks, the minister added that government is open to exploring public-private partnership on the interventions and also other key sectors of the economy. She urged industry players to join hands with the government in charting Nigeria back to a resilient and sustainable path of growth.
In her welcome remarks, the event host and Technical Consultant to the Group, Emilia Asim-Ita, stated that the industry webinar series was designed to engage and contribute to the policy advocacy and formulation pillar, as a key objective for the set up of the sustainability working group.
Speakers at the event included: Taiwo Oyedele Partner and West Africa Tax Leader, PwC; Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators in Nigeria; and Olusola Teniola, President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON). Others were: Ben Akabueze, Director-General, Budget Office; Muhammad Mamman Nami, FIRS Chairman was reperesneted by Mathew Gbonjubola, Director, Tax Policy and Advisory, and Prof. Teju Somorin, Professor of Taxation & Fiscal Policy Dean, College of Postgraduate Studies Caleb University.
