I will champion removal of 7.5% VAT on diesel, says Tinubu’s tax adviser, Taiwo Oyedele

 

By Joseph Ibrahim
Newly appointed chairman of the recently announced Tax Reform Team, Taiwo Oyedele, has signaled that he would push for the removal of 7.5 per cent tax on diesel.

He also said more tax relief will be advocated on sectors with high yielding job potentials and those that have direct bearing on reduction of cost of living.

Oyedele, who was recently announced as chairman of the Tax reform team of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, made the comment while warding off an attack against his appointment by a Twitter user, @eadewunmi.

The tweep had alleged that PwC, which is Oyedele’s employer before his appointment, lobbies on behalf of private businesses for tax reliefs from the government.

He also alleged that Oyedele actively campaigned against a 20% sugar tax which the tweep claimed its implementation could have health benefits, like reducing obesity, diabetes and other sugar related ailments.

He said Oyedele was not the suitable choice for the position owing to an alleged conflict of interest.

But Oyedele, in a response to the tweep’s attack, offered more than a defence. He provided insight on the kind of advice he would be providing by Mr President.

Here’s Oyedele’s reaction to the tweep.

“I was going to ignore this but for the sake of your innocent followers you wish to mislead. A 20% tax was never introduced or even proposed by the government. It was N20 per liter which was later approved at N10 per litre on soft drinks, juice etc. I guess you don’t have a problem with government taxing these products even if it means some Nigerians losing their jobs.

“Nigeria’s sugar consumption per capita is one of the lowest in the world but people like you prefer to import foreign templates to Nigeria without proper impact assessments and understanding the local context. Excise tax increases on other products were announced for 2022 to 2024 by the government but later escalated midway into implementation. A bit of education will help you to understand that such policy somersault will not only hurt the sector being taxed but will make the investment climate uncertain and unattractive.

“You can also get a bit of education if you check my work in the tax space which is freely available online including many instances when I have supported the government to raise taxes including free consulting and even sponsorship of efforts to expand the tax net through VAIDS.

“I also championed both the exemption of people earning N30k or less from tax as well as exemption of small businesses earning N25m or less from VAT. I guess it doesn’t matter to you that those vulnerable people are being over-taxed and you won’t tell your followers that the people I advocated for are not my clients, rather I did it in the public interest.

” I am currently advocating for the 7.5% VAT on diesel to be suspended given the impact of rise in transportation and other costs as a result of petrol subsidy removal. Perhaps your desire is for government to tax anything and everything even if it means taxing poverty.

“I can also remind you of my advocacy for government to reduce minimum tax rate which forces struggling companies to pay tax even when they are loss making.

“It’s likely you don’t care if more companies shut down or exit Nigeria. My interest has always been public interest, and it is not going to change now whether I am advocating for the private sector or not. This has been consistent in my career spanning over 2 decades. If that seems like conflict of interest to you then I cannot be of much help.

“You’re absolutely free to share your single story view, but you’re not permited to share ignorance. Please get a bit of education if you must comment on a subject you seem completely clueless about. If you know anyone who never worked in the private sector yet fully understands the tax issues affecting the economy, feel free to recommend such a person to the government. And if you have any problem with Australia, please reach out to them. I am a Nigerian, I live and work in Nigeria.”