The chairman and founder of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu says Nigeria would be unable to keep its investors and entrepreneurs with time, if the issue
The chairman and founder of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu says Nigeria would be unable to keep its investors and entrepreneurs with time, if the issue of multiple taxation is not abolished. Taxes like minimum income tax and excess dividend tax, He noted that the average Nigerian business pays 48 taxes.
While delivering the keynote address at the 21st annual tax conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), the entrepreneur and philanthropist said the country needs far-reaching tax reforms and an urgent need to pass the executive tax bill otherwise, it will be difficult to mobilise SMEs to help create the much needed employment in the country.
Describing the plight of the average Nigerian entrepreneur, Tony Elumelu who is also the chairman of UBA said the average business is a local government authority providing his own electricity, water and waste disposal method. He said the government can make life easier by creating favourable tax policies that support SMEs.
“The average number of taxes businesses pay in Nigeria is 48, compared to 33 in other Sub-Saharan countries. In Hong Kong, it’s just 3. Multiple taxation remains a significant burden for SMEs and corporates operating in the country. With a population of close to 200 million people in Nigeria, we have only 75,000 registered SMEs in the country. No one needs to tell us that people are avoiding tax or refusing to be a part of the system.”
“Government should drive mass mobilisation of citizens – let citizens know why they need to pay taxes and give them the assurance that their tax will be properly utilized. Government should employ the use of smart tax incentives to attract local and foreign investors. Nigeria has 14 taxation treaties while a country like South Africa has 79 double taxation treaties, and we are the largest economy in Africa. Our embassies should adopt a target in the next two years to sign tax treaties with our top 100 trading partners in the world,” he said.
