Many taxes now being enforced have long existed but were dormant — Dare

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Chief Sunday Dare, has said many of the taxes currently being enforced by the Federal Government are not new, but levies that had existed for years without effective implementation.

Dare, who spoke on Channels Television’s Hard Copy programme, said the ongoing tax reforms were aimed at modernising Nigeria’s tax system, improving revenue collection and providing the government with the resources needed to finance critical infrastructure and public services.

He said the reforms should not be viewed as an attempt by the Tinubu administration to impose fresh burdens on Nigerians, noting that several existing taxes had remained dormant before the government moved to activate them.

According to him, taxation is a major source of government revenue globally, alongside income generated from natural resources, but Nigeria has historically struggled with a weak tax culture and widespread tax evasion.

“Our tax system has been loose. Our tax culture has the future of irresponsibility. It also has a lot of people evade tax,” Dare said.

He argued that Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains among the lowest in Africa, making increased and more efficient revenue mobilisation necessary for sustainable economic development.

Dare said the government has benchmarked the country’s tax system against international standards and is seeking to create a more efficient framework capable of supporting the transition to a modern economy.

He explained that the reforms had also consolidated Nigeria’s numerous taxes, with about 50 different taxes reduced to roughly 11, while exemptions and reliefs were introduced for certain categories of taxpayers.

“This president came in and collapsed 50 taxes to about 11,” he said, adding that…