The Chairman, Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, has described the controversies surrounding the Tax Reforms Bills presently on the floor of the national assembly as not unusual, since they directly affect lives and livelihood.

 

 

Oyedele, who made the remarks at the  2025 LCCI Economic Review and Outlook Conference, held on Thursday, in Lagos, also expressed his delight at the level of awareness the Bills had generated  among the public, in the past few months.

 

 

While assuring of the committee’s readiness to continually engage stakeholders, regarding the bills, Oyedele expressed the optimism that the bills, expected to be signed into law by   the first quarter of  this year, would go a long way in enhancing the fortunes of individuals and businesses in the country.

 

 

He argued that, contrary to the general belief that the bills were intended to make Nigerians pay more, the  tax reforms policies, scheduled for implementation by July, this year,  he argued, would protect the vulnerable in the society, and remove some illegal levies businesses had been made to pay, over the years.

 

 

“I find the reforms exciting because this is the first time in my adult life that we are focusing on how to make businesses more competitive.  For instance, how do you reduce their costs? How do we bring down their tax rates?  How do we ensure that small businesses can thrive without the excess burden they have been dealing with since? How do we protect the low-income earners in the society? How do we ensure within government some sanity, regarding how revenues are collected, and  taxes introduced?

 

 

” We do know of government agencies that got their establishment laws amended, and introduced taxes to fund agencies that the private sector has to provide. It was almost like nobody was thinking that these private businesses do not have limitless pockets to be funding everybody and every agency.

 

 

“All these are what the bills are out to address. The fact that we are having this national conversation, and it is creating awareness in itself is a win already, and it can really get better,” he added.

 

 

Predicting the form the  nation’s economy would take in 2025,  Oyedele expressed the optimism that the new year would be much better than the out-gone year.

 

He believed inflation would continue to moderate in the new year; since the factors that pushed up prices in 2024, are no longer there.

 

 

“I’m positive that 2025  is almost like a reset. We expect that the exchange rate will be stable in 2025because the factor pushing the exchange rate have reduced significantly, since we now have local refinery capacity, and the fact that we’ve cut out some inflation of consumption that we cannot really verify.

 

 

“The fact that there will be inflow of FX into the federation account, and once you stabilize the economy beyond FPI, you’ll begin to attract foreign investors. And as all of that are coming together, that means you’ll have a stable naira, possibly recovering, and becoming stronger and therefore helping with inflation, helping with businesses, and general conditions of living.  I think it’s a year that we are turning the corner for good,” he concluded.