BREAKING: Taxation Key to Nigeria’s Fiscal Resilience and Growth, Tinubu Says At CITN Conference
President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, declared that taxation was key in the efforts to reposition the country’s fiscal architecture for resilience, inclusiveness, and growth.
Tinubu spoke in Abuja at the opening of the 27th Annual Tax Conference, organised by Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN).
The conference had the theme, “Taxation for Development: Policies, Law and Implementation.”
Tinubu said a robust, transparent, and fair tax system was essential for financing government operations, and creating the environment for accountability, stability, and long-term development.
Speaking at the conference also, Vice President Kashim Shettima said following key reforms initiated by the Tinubu administration, state governments were currently in a good fiscal position, having repaid 32 per cent of the global debt they owed.
Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, called for diligent implementation of the four tax reform bills recently passed by the National Assembly, when assented to by the president.
Represented by Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, Tinubu said the government had taken deliberate steps to restructure and modernise tax administration and the legal framework, leading to the establishment of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which marked a significant turning point.
He said the presidential tax committee was tasked with simplifying the tax system, broadening the tax base, curbing leakages, and ensuring alignment between fiscal policy and national development objectives.
The president said his administration was committed to building a system where every taxpayer, whether an individual or corporate entity, could transact efficiently, transparently, and with confidence in the system’s integrity.
He said while these reforms were not without challenges, the government recognised that the “change of this magnitude requires extensive stakeholder engagement, capacity building, and sustained political will”.
He added that collaboration was critical to success.
Tinubu said the government was leveraging technology and data analytics to enhance tax compliance and improve service delivery. He stressed that digitisation of tax processes was already yielding positive results.
The president said the support of institutions, like CITN, will be indispensable in building a tax system that supported enterprise, reduced poverty, and delivered on national development agenda.
He said the conference presented an opportunity for stakeholders to explore how policies and laws could be translated into practical and measurable outcomes.
Tinubu said as tax professionals and policy makers, CITN was a custodian of Nigeria’s tax future.
He urged the institute to leverage the platform to engage meaningfully, challenge assumptions, and craft pathways that will strengthen the tax institutions, boost revenue, and ultimately improve the lives of Nigerians.
While commending the leadership of CITN for organising the conference, Tinubu expressed confidence that the ideas and partnerships from the event will contribute significantly to deepening tax reform and development in the country.
Shettima was represented at the conference by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs in the Office of the Vice President, Dr. Tope Fashua.
The vice president stated, “The critical reforms of Mr President even extends to the matter of local government autonomy, and the earlier mentioned reforms led to a situation where our subnational governments are now awash with liquidity.
“Our states have paid down in just one year, 32 per cent of their global debts. Many of our states have doubled and tripled their internally generated revenues in the same space of time.
“Hardly does any of our states borrow for now, but with a repositioning of their balance sheets, we see an opportunity for states to leverage their good standing and combining their current liquidity, we hope to see an explosion of local and rural infrastructure all over Nigeria.”
Shettima added, “We also hope to see immediate reduction in poverty across rural Nigeria, contrary to projections from some quarters.
“This is because of the new ‘Buy Nigeria’ policy, which compels governments across the country to consider local service providers first before anyone else, to use local contractors for public jobs, and to ensure that we use our own resources to reboot our economy from within.
“Indeed, the first charge on the resources of our governments from federal to local, is the salaries and entitlements of our workers.”
The vice president urged the private sector to equally implement the minimum wage policy to ameliorate the hardship among low income earners.
Sanwo-olu, who was represented by Special Adviser to the Governor on Taxation and Revenue, Ogungbo Abdul-Kabir Opeyemi, said the bold initiatives introduced by Tinubu, and supported by the state governors and members of the National Assembly, would pave the way for sustainable and prosperous future, when enacted into law.
He said, “These efforts are expected to catalyse economic growth and national development.
“Permit me to briefly reflect on ‘The Lagos Story’. The transformational journey of Lagos State’s tax administration has become a benchmark for sub-national entities across Nigeria.
“The transformative initiative embarked upon during the tenure of the then Governor—now our President, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR)—laid the foundation for the impressive fiscal performance and developmental strides that Lagos State continues to enjoy.
“The outcome of his strategic vision set Lagos State on a trajectory of consistent growth.”
The governor told attendees of the august tax event, “Today, our consistency has led to achieving ground-breaking initiatives, like the Lagos Revenue Portal (LRP), which harmonises all our revenue sources, promotion of the use of NIN as a mandatory unique identification across entities, Revenue Al Chatbots for the engagement of citizenry and other stakeholders, the strategic integration of data analytics through cutting edge technology, which set us apart as a data driven state.
“Our payer centric system successfully built in conveniences and transformed how taxpayers fulfil their obligations without leaving their place of comfort zones.”
He said, “From a humble start, Lagos now serves as a model in effective tax administration, demonstrating how sub-national governments can leverage fiscal reforms to drive development.
“As we await constitutional approvals to the new tax reform bills, and earnestly looking forward to their full implementation, to my colleagues – leadership of sub-nationals – the clause(s) that puts a cap on income of employees at N800,000 per annum, before it can be subjected to Personal Income Tax (PIT), requires deliberate strategies to ensure taxpayers hiding in the MSME and start up sectors are brought into the tax net and intensify effort on direct assessment drive for high net worth individuals to forestall the trend of tax evasion as witnessed across the country today.”
Sanwo-Olu stated, “It is imperative that as sub-nationals, we not only embrace but also lead the implementation drive. A policy commitment by sub-nationals to deliberately modify state laws where necessary, investment in data analytics, technological innovation, and human capital development are essential.
“These elements are critical to realising the full potential of our tax reform efforts, enhancing fiscal capacity, and contributing meaningfully to Nigeria’s overarching goal of attaining a $1 trillion economy.”
Sanwo-olu, while commending Tinubu for his visionary leadership, also hailed CITN for its unwavering dedication to advancing the critical national cause.
In his remarks at the conference, Governor of Plateau State, Mr. Caleb Mutfwang, said wealth creation was crucial for taxation.
Mutfwang added that the government must first create an enabling environment for businesses before taxing them.
He emphasised the need for a friendly atmosphere for investment, insisting, “You can’t tax poverty.”
CITN President, Mr. Samuel Agbeluyi, said the organisation had been at the forefront of excellence, ethical standards, and professionalism in the tax profession for over 43 years.
Agbeluyi said members were at the conference to critically examine the interconnectedness of taxation and fiscal development from the lens of policy, law, and implementation with a view to providing actionable policy recommendations for the consideration of government and stakeholders.
The CITN president described taxation as “not merely a tool for revenue generation; it is a powerful instrument for promoting equity, redistributing wealth, incentivising growth and funding public services that enhance the quality of life for all citizens”.
He said, “However, for taxation to truly serve these developmental goals, the triad of policy formulation, legal framework and implementation mechanisms must be harmoniously aligned.
“When policy is progressive, the law is enabling and implementation is both efficient and equitable, the result is a tax system that engenders trust, encourages voluntary compliance and delivers shared prosperity.
“This is therefore a thought provoking topic that requires all of us to put on our thinking hats. As we deliberate, we must recognise that our nation faces significant challenges.
“From economic to security and social dimensions, the need for sustainable solutions has never been more pressing than today. And at the heart of these solutions lies our tax system.”
Agbeluyi urged the government to refine the provisions on the accreditation of Tax Agents as contained in Sections 32 and 143 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2024, and the appointing authority in Section 5(n) of the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024, in order to strengthen and uphold the principles of professionalism and competence within the country’s tax system.