Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has said that more than 90 percent of operators in Nigeria’s informal sector do not have the financial capacity to pay taxes.
Oyedele explained that the majority of players in the informal economy are only struggling to survive and cannot contribute meaningfully to government revenue through taxation.
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Oyedele made this disclosure on Friday, during a roundtable with journalists, analysts, and social influencers on the newly enacted tax laws.
He explained that contrary to popular belief, targeting the informal sector cannot resolve Nigeria’s revenue challenges.
“This is the reason why Nigeria has ended up introducing multiple taxes, because we are trying to chase people in the informal sector every now and then,” he said.
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“When in fact, more than 90 percent of operators in that sector are just there for survival.
“They are just trying to find how to put food on the table one day to another. They have no capacity to pay taxes.”
Oyedele stressed that taxing small-scale operators such as roadside corn sellers, vulcanisers, and wheelbarrow pushers is unrealistic.
“If somebody is roasting corn by the roadside, if they have customers from morning till night, they are still poor.
“If somebody is a vulcaniser, and they have customers all around for the day, they are still poor. They have no capacity to pay taxes and should not be taxed,” he explained.
He further noted that this was why President Bola Tinubu had maintained that poverty and capital must not be taxed. “We should not tax seeds but wait for the fruits,” he said.
Speaking on reforms, Oyedele highlighted that the new tax laws were designed to strengthen accountability, eliminate loopholes, and ensure that all tax revenues are now paid directly into the federation account.
