The director-general of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, said people in the creative and media sectors should start paying taxes.
Akabueze, who has always maintained that Nigeria has an income problem and not a debt problem, as many believe, has also advocated the imposition of additional taxes for rich Nigerians to boost revenue generation.
Akabueze announced this on Monday at the launch of the World Bank report titled, ‘Nigeria Public Finance Review: Fiscal Adjustment for Better and Sustained Results, in Abuja.
The head of the budget office insisted that rich Nigerians should pay taxes commensurate with their income.
Tax the rich well: Akabueze said,
- “We should tax the rich. We have very rich people side by side with very poor people. I describe it as an ‘elite conspiracy’ to not distribute a fair share of the country’s resources.
- “If you have a private jet that is rare. If you buy one for yourself, buy one for the country by paying 100% tax on it. This is not a place for debate.
- “Some sectors that are growing well also have to pay taxes. The creative and media– you have all these people who attack us every day to show their new cars. I don’t see any other option. We should tax the rich. They should pay taxes according to their income.”
Additional taxes: Also speaking at a panel session, Patience Oniha, director-general of the Debt Management Office (DMO), said she wants all loans outside Nigeria to be concessional facilities.
However, he explained that the sources of the concession are limited and therefore others should be explored.
He further emphasized the need to raise more tax revenue as well as source funds from the country’s assets instead of ignoring them.
The chief economic adviser to the president, Doyin Salami, while agreeing with Oniha, said Nigerians must pay taxes for the country to generate revenue or be forced to pay higher interest rates on borrowed funds. .
- He said, “If you don’t pay taxes, you will pay high interest rates because if you don’t pay taxes, we will go into debt and if we go into debt, we will have to pay the debts with higher interest rates. We need to raise more taxes from the rich for social balance,”