Committee Recommends VAT Increase to 10%, Proposes Tax Consolidation and Reductions

The Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms has recommended an upward review of the Value Added Tax (VAT) from the present 7.5 per cent.

The chairman of the committee, Taiwo Oyedele, made this known during an appearance on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Monday.

Oyedele stated that his committee is working to consolidate multiple taxes in Nigeria to ensure a reduction, adding that the draft tax law will be submitted to the National Assembly.

He said, “We have significant issues in our tax revenue. We have issues of revenue generally, which means tax and non-tax. You can describe the whole fiscal system in a state that is in crisis.

“When my committee was set up, we had three broad mandates. The first one was to look at governance: our finances as a country, borrowing, coordination within the federal government and across sub-national.

“The second one was revenue transformation. The revenue profile of the country is abysmally low. If you dedicate our whole revenue to fixing roads it will be insufficient. The third is on government assets.

“The law we are proposing to the National Assembly has the rate of 7.5% moving to 10% from 2025. We don’t know how soon they will be able to pass the law. Then subsequent increases are also indicated in terms of the year they will kick in.

“While we are doing that, we have a corresponding reduction in personal income tax. Anybody that is earning about N1.5 million a month or less, they will see their personal income tax come down. Companies will have income tax rate come down by 30% over the next two years to 25%. That is a significant reduction.

“Other taxes they pay are quite many: IT levy, education tax, etc. All these we are consolidating into a single one. They will pay 4% initially. That will go down to 2& in the next few years.”