From James Emejo in Abuja

•Okonjo-Iweala: It’s now “life and death" issue

President Goodluck Jonathan   yesterday said  an effective and efficient tax system was critical to achieving his administration's national transformation agenda.

He said taxation would provide the much needed funds for good governance and bring sustainable growth to the current and future generations.

To this end, the president assured Nigerians that the Personal Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2011 currently before him, would be given expedited action so that it could become operational.

Speaking in Abuja at the opening of the 2nd International Tax Conference and 50th anniversary of the Joint Tax Board (JTB) with the theme: “Taxation and Good Governance - A recipe for Sustainable Growth”, Jonathan, however, stressed the need to mitigate the impact of personal income tax on workers with regards to the enhanced national minimum wage "to ensure the maximum benefit of the improved wages accrues to our workers."

Represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Jonathan said it was important to ensure that laws were implemented in a complementary manner that would empower states to pay the wages to workers while workers pay what was due to government as tax .

Assuring the JTB of government's support in achieving its major objectives, he tasked the board to ensure harmony and uniformity in the application of the tax laws in the states to aid the proper implementation of the Personal Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2011 once it was signed into law.

He said: "Each sector of the Nigerian economy will be given equal opportunity and support to contribute its own quota to national development, especially taxation at this stage of our economic development, when we are focused on developing sustainable sources of revenue and moving our economy away from over-dependence on oil revenues."

Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance, in her own capacity, said transforming the nation's economy had become a matter of "real life and death" for the current administration.

She said: "We’ve got to change the structure of the economy; we’ve got to change and improve the base for our taxation because non-oil taxation in this country is one of the lowest in terms of percentage of GDP in the world."

The minister also said Nigeria could not afford to continue to rely "too much" on the outside world because of the immense uncertainties on the global scene.
She said the country must search for better options on how to manage resources to improve her development process.

Okonjo-Iweala said at present, there was no panacea to the current debt crisis in Europe, adding that Nigeria's dependence on oil export as her sole source of revenue would make it vulnerable in view of the declining price of oil occasioned by the debt crisis.


She said: "The global environment is really changing; it is very uncertain.  As I finished from the meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund last week; and with all the finance ministers all over the world - I have never seen so much uncertainty in the room as we met together. For once, I noticed that nobody really has the answer.

"Finance ministers from Europe-where Europe is now in very big trouble in terms of the sovereign debt crisis in Greece and other countries didn’t seem to have the answer on how this is going to be finally resolved.

The US, the same situation, and Japan, we look at the emerging countries like China and India-they are doing much better but even then there are vulnerability that need to be looked into."

According to the Minister: "It means that for a country like Nigeria, we are particularly vulnerable because we have one export: the demand of which depends on what happens in the outside world.

And with that kind of uncertainty, that means we are also vulnerable in terms of lower demand outside-and we are seeing the impact of that in the declining price of oil."


Consequently, she said the country must pay particular attention to diversifying the economy as well as tax base. The minister further tasked the JTB to intensify efforts to dialogue and educate the public on taxation.

This, she noted, would enable the citizens to demand accountability in the use of  public resource from their leaders.

"We need the public to be more demanding," she said.

Chairman, Joint Tax Board, Ifueko Omoigui Okauru noted that multiple taxation remained an issue in all tiers of government.

She said the current decline in tax revenue since the late 60s posed an issue in building the nation's competitiveness and the capacity to compete with the rest of the world adding that it has become a challenge to create jobs and make products as cost competitive as possible.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/taxation-critical-to-national-transformation-says-fg/99973/

^^^

Try reason before you talk sometimes. It makes you a wise man.

So Lagos State where the government is making everyone pay tax- what will you call the government?

UK where almost half of what you earn goes into tax, what will you call those government?

Abeg- all these insult on government officers at every slight opportunity is becoming extremely boring.

When you sit down and think before you talk, then you will gradually become a wise man.

[size=18pt]FRESH AIR[/size] - for real!

werepeLeri:

^^^

Try reason before you talk sometimes. It makes you a wise man.

So Lagos State where the government is making everyone pay tax- what will you call the government?

UK where almost half of what you earn goes into tax, what will you call those government?

Abeg- all these insult on government officers at every slight opportunity is becoming extremely boring.

When you sit down and think before you talk, then you will gradually become a wise man.

Your either insane or a politician.

Either way your head needs examining.

Retarded slowpoke

^^^^

No no no - its your brain that is inside your a nu s. Anu manu. How old are you?

Oil subsidy removal, failed N30bn scam, new taxation. The money has to come from somewhere. Since the oil is not doing it anymore these days they have decided to steal directly from Nigerian's pockets. Nigerians should refuse to pay tax if the government refuses to do anything to improve thier lives. This time monkey go work, baboon go chop for real. Nigerian's will now be working to fund politicians lifestyles. We know their intentions are not clear. It looks very desperate, though a valid move. But the series of events recently are very desperate. . I would think an SS man now in power will focus on federalism now that they have the chance. But our leaders are united in keeping sheep like Nigerians poor and uneducated.

One day it will dawn on us whats happening . . . .

[img]http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/G+20+Finance+Ministers+Central+Bank+Governors+uLqTd-5uWCMm.jpg[/img]

Still enslaved . . . . .

Courtesy of our politicians.

Sun of god:

One day it will dawn on us whats happening . . . .

[img]http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/G+20+Finance+Ministers+Central+Bank+Governors+uLqTd-5uWCMm.jpg[/img]

Is that not lagarde ? Poor nigerians,you are on your own !

Sleeping Nigerians - I command you to wake up!

WTF

If Lagos is anything to go by, the more they collect, the more they will steal.

Sun of god:

Sleeping Nigerians - I command you to wake up!

WTF

Sanusi is still much better than these goons, his policies have always protected the common man, Okonjo Iweala is a World Bank agenda woman while our bros GEJ is just a mumu who does not understand what the guys are saying.

hercules07:

Sanusi is still much better than these goons, his policies have always protected the common man, Okonjo Iweala is a World Bank agenda woman while our bros GEJ is just a mumu who does not understand what the guys are saying.

lol

hercules07:

Sanusi is still much better than these goons, his policies have always protected the common man, Okonjo Iweala is a World Bank agenda woman while our bros GEJ is just a mumu who does not understand what the guys are saying.

Yet he presides over the affairs of over 150million people. Mumu indeed.

LOL