Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufa’i, has warned that Nigeria is almost reaching its maximum capacity to borrow and must be pro-active in ramping up tax revenue collection.
El-Rufa’i stated this while delivering his keynote address at the 22nd Annual Tax Conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria on Thursday.
The governor lamented the low rate of tax collection in the country, saying: “Only a minority of Nigerians pay income tax, and the majority of this tiny minority are persons whose taxes are deducted at source, formal sector employees, public servants and the like.
According to him, many state governments and the Federal Government are not collecting as much tax as they should.
El-Rufa’i said, “The total internally-generated revenues by states are currently less than one per cent of the GDP, despite the fact that Nigeria’s current fiscal federalism framework allows states and local governments to collect many taxes, levies and fees.
“This low rate of internal revenue collection depresses public finances and hampers the ability to deliver social goods, services and physical infrastructure. This in turn limits competitiveness, shrinking the ability to promote the sort of economic dynamism that can create jobs, expand public revenues and improve public welfare.”
The conference had as its theme: ‘Taxation and economic competitiveness: Imperatives for national development’.
