By Halimah Olamide
The Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, Zaccheus Adedeji, has said the present administration is not introducing new taxes rather it is improving on strategies to collect existing ones. Adedeji was speaking at a press briefing at the presidential villa, Abuja. “One of the key focuses of this administration is to harmonise our taxes, the way we collect it,” he told journalists.
He went further while explaining on some of the latest moves by the president to enhance revenue, ““Mr. President actually wants to simplify and make it friendly to business, the way we operate taxes in Nigeria. As we know, when we talk about the revenue management, it’s not only in tax collection, the starting point is our economic policy because our aim is not to tax poverty.
“Our aim is not to tax production. Our aim is to increase our productive activities, capacity to produce, then we can tax our consumption and that is the direction of our economic planning and then we want to increase the trust that we have in the government.
“If you have observed what has happened in the last months that we’ve been here, we’ve kept our words, part of what we are doing today, just to increase this trust that we’re here to do what’s best for the country.”
Adedeji said there are many robust plans by the new government to shore up revenues and improve on the economy of the people. He said, ““Lastly, we have a robust plan to improve our collection management and compliance management because that is what is needed.
“So we’re not going to impose new taxes, it’s the one that we have that we’ll improve the collection, the management and the efficient use of those resources.
“That is the pledge and promise of Mr. President, which we’re here to make sure comes to reality.”