Revenue mobilisation: Nigeria to unveil new tax reforms soon, says Wale Edun

Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, says the federal government will focus on domestic resource mobilisation through the introduction of new tax reforms.

Edun spoke on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the ongoing World Bank Group/International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings in Marrakech, Morocco.

Speaking shortly after the G-24 meeting involving Nigeria, Edun said the meeting focused on how the World Bank Group/IMF could be reformed to offer more support to developing economies.

He said the current administration intends to efficiently improve the collection of taxes, fees, and payments that are due to the government.

According to Edun, global interest rates have been rising and there is a need for countries, including Nigeria, to focus more on mobilising resources locally.

“Essentially, the conversation was that the global financial architecture needs to be reformed for the 21st,” the minister said.

“Basically, what they (World Bank Group/IMF) have at the moment is not meeting the expectations and requirements of developing countries such as Nigeria.

“There is not enough concessionary financing; interest rates are going up even within multilateral institutions, such that interest rates are so high around the world that the issue of debt is very high on the agenda.

“And of course, there is a financing gap, there is not enough funding to fund the developing requirements of the poorer countries, and that is what the conversation is all about — the need for reforms, change, and improvements.”

Ebun said the meeting also addressed “a bigger, better, and bolder World Bank Group that will perhaps mobilise private sector funding”.

He said the Tinubu-led government would unveil a major tax policy reform very soon.

“Again for Nigeria, something that the government of President Bola Tinubu has been emphasising also came to the fore here — and that is domestic resource mobilisation — the fact that we have depended on our savings, and resources to a larger extent,” the minister added.

“We must be efficient in collecting taxes, fees, and payments that are due, we must be efficient and cost-effective with our expenditure.

“We must create a bigger base of financing from our resources, we must rely on ourselves, we must pull ourselves up much more than relying on others. That was an important message that came out.”

Edun, while responding to the issue of inclusiveness in decision-making, said Africans are calling for “a bigger voice, a third seat in the governance of the World Bank and IMF, and for Sub-Saharan Africa, and at the end of the day, for Nigeria.”