75% Of Nigerians Want To Pay Taxes–Finance Minister

Tayo Olanipekun, Washington DC

A survey has shown that no fewer than 75 per cent of Nigerians are ready and willing to pay taxes, the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, has revealed.

She also said that plans were already afoot to levy excise duties on carbonated drinks as she explained to journalists, during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in Washington DC on Thursday, the reason for government’s plan to increase VAT on some commodities.

The excise duty, if introduced on fizzy drinks, is bound to increase the retail prices of the popular refreshments like coca cola, Pepsi cola and malt drinks as the public already expects the effects of the VAT increase on prices of  other commodities.

The citizen perception survey was recently carried out by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) with the support of Bill & Mellinda Gates, according to Ahmed.

A few others that the survey revealed are unwilling to pay taxes said their disposition was based on the fact that there is nothing to prove that the government utilizes taxes judiciously, leading the Minister to conclude that Nigerians “have low tax morale.”

“We, now, are planning a strong strategic communication process to educate people on why they need to pay taxes. This is because the oil and gas revenue that we have depended on is not going to be there forever. It is a finite resources that is already in depreciation,” she said.

She said despite the the recovery the economy had made in recent time in the areas of foreign exchange reserve, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and revenue performance, the nation sees “a future with significant financing needs,” especially as the nation’s infrastructure master plan requires $3 trillion over 30 years to address infrastructural deficit.

“To achieve this, we need fiscal sufficiency and buoyancy which must come through domestic revenue for it to be sustainable. We currently have a pervasive revenue generation problem that must change to successfully finance our development needs,” Ahmed said.

The country has recently proposed a 50 per cent increase of VAT on consumption commodities with the exclusions of some it categorized under food, education, transportation and health.