Why Nigerians need to fully support the tax bill

November 29, 2024

By Patrick Anum

The bill also proposes removing tax on essential items like food, education, healthcare, and public transportation.

Low-income households spend 82% of earnings on these necessities, and taxing them increases poverty. I personally love this one

The bill proposes fixing our complicated tax laws which discourage international companies from the hiring of Nigerians when they learn of the taxes they need to pay.
By simplifying them, we could expand the current 1 million remote workers we have

The bill proposes reduction in tax for poor people earning less than ₦800,000 per year, which will help 90% of workers in Nigeria

Presently, even people who earn 30,000 pay tax which burdens the poorest Nigerians so I support reduction in tax for poor people

The bill also proposes that, companies making losses should have the possibility of having tax exemptions to promote doing business in Nigeria which I fully support

Most importantly helping our small businesses, by proposing that for small businesses earning less than ₦50 million annually, sparing them the numerous taxes they have to pay (protecting SMEs)

Also, Nigerian companies operating abroad currently face double taxation (In Nigeria and Abraod) when profits are repatriated. The bill addresses this to encourage growth and reinvestment.

Then the bill also proposes leveling the playing field by removing selective incentives that unfairly benefit a few companies at the expense of others (like how Dangote got incentives over other cement manufacturers and was able to use those government incentives to dominate)

The bill proposes reducing corporate tax from 30% to 25% to encourage business expansion and competitiveness.

The bill also proposes, refunding you for tax when you over pay which is what happens in western countries.

And the establishment of a tax tribunal where you can challenge when you are taxed

And lastly, it gives us the opportunity to update our ur laws since Nigeria still operates with colonial-era tax laws, e.g., Stamp Duties Act of 1939. The bill seeks to harmonize 60+ taxes, simplify administration, and integrate technology to reduce inefficiency.

Please let’s support it