Nigeria plans to overhaul its tax system to shift more of the burden to wealthy citizens while cutting corporate taxes.
The move — part of President Bola Tinubu’s reforms – aims to lift the country’s tax take to 18% of gross domestic product within three years from 11% now.
The plan is to make “the rich pay what is fair and those who are too poor can be protected,” said Taiwo Oyedele, who is leading a panel appointed by Tinubu to drive the changes.
“We also envisage a reduction in the corporate income tax rate,” to below the current effective rate of more than 40% to help boost business, he told Bloomberg in a recent interview. The new rate should be benchmarked against Nigeria’s peers, he said.
Among 4 million registered firms, less than 250,000 actively pay tax, while fewer than a quarter of the 41 million registered people pay income tax, Oyedele said.