Understanding the mindset of the chairman of President Tinubu’s Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, will reveal Tinubu’s fiscal policy.
The fears and anxieties of Nigerians may be rooted on the position of Oyedele who in January 2020, as a partner at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, PwC, said, “VAT increase’ll not solve Nigeria’s problems”.
Back in 2020, Oyedele was miffed about the hike in VAT, saying “when you raise tax rate, compliance will go down because you give incentive to other people not to pay.” Giving reasons for his positions, he said: “Last year, we collected N1.1 trillion in VAT. So all things being equal, anywhere around the world, when you raise tax rate, compliance will go down because you give incentive to other people not to pay”.
In his new role as chairman of Tinubu’s Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, perhaps Oyedele will drop his previous stance against increasing VAT as an avenue to shore up revenue for Federal Government’s public spending and reduce limits to fiscal space as debt service costs consume a greater portion of government revenue.
Notwithstanding, Nigerians are watching Oyedele on how he intends to navigate Nigeria’s poor governance culture, fueled by interference by the presidency and big shot politicians.
Nigeria’s problem is not about ideas on paper but actual implementation and execution of policies without presidential interference.
Will Oyedele embark on a journey of hiking taxes and an aggressive policy of tax collection, for more revenue, in the midst of multiple taxes paid by companies across Nigeria? Time will tell.