Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has called for broader inclusion of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and high-net-worth individuals in Nigeria’s tax net to address growing tax evasion and boost revenue collection.
Sanwo-Olu, represented by his Special Adviser on Taxation and Revenue, Ogungbo Abdul-Kabir Opeyemi, made the call on Tuesday during the opening ceremony of the 27th Annual Tax Conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria in Abuja.
In his goodwill message, the governor pointed to a clause in the new tax reform bills awaiting constitutional approval, which exempts employees earning below N800,000 annually from Personal Income Tax, as a potential gap that must be tackled.
He said, “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, 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.”
“It is imperative that as sub-nationals, we not only embrace but also lead the implementation drive,” he said.
The governor further called for policy commitments by state governments to update laws, adopt technology, invest in data analytics, and develop human capital to fully harness the benefits of the reform.
