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The Federal Government has proposed a zero percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on food, education, and healthcare.
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Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has identified Lagos State as the biggest loser in the ongoing tax reform efforts.
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Under the reforms, VAT collection would be adjusted to address inequities, redistributing revenue away from Lagos.
The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has revealed that Lagos State will be the biggest loser in the ongoing tax reform efforts.
This disclosure was made during a live appearance on Arise TV, where Oyedele discussed the tax reforms proposed by President Bola Tinubu.
According to Oyedele, the committee’s proposals on Value Added Tax (VAT) were designed to benefit all regions of the country.
However, he noted that Lagos and Rivers States have argued that direct VAT collection would better reflect their contributions.
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Oyedele warned that allowing states to collect VAT independently would create chaos for businesses, stating, “That is the equivalent of 100 per cent derivation. For us, as we’re working on these tax reforms, we said if we get states to start collecting VAT in Nigeria, it will be chaotic for business because we know for a fact that states in Nigeria will not respect input-output.”
Oyedele explained that Lagos is the biggest loser in the reform bill because most companies headquartered in the state currently remit their VAT there due to their centralized finance departments.
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However, under the reforms, VAT collection would be adjusted to address inequities, redistributing revenue away from Lagos despite its significant contributions.
“What did we identify? As of today, when companies remit their VAT, they tend to remit from their head office because that’s where they have the finance department. So MTN, BUA, Dangote, Airtel, all the banks, most of them are headquartered in Lagos. Some of the oil companies are headquartered in Rivers State,” Oyedele said.
Nigeria Receives World Bank $1.5bn Loan for Subsidy Removal, Tax Reforms
The Washington-based World Bank has granted Nigeria a $1.5 billion foreign loan.
The loan was granted as part of the federal government’s effort to implement fuel subsidy removal and tax reforms.
