NASME urges FG to review tax rates downwards
The Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) has called on the federal government to review tax rates downwards, noting that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are still faced with myriad of challenges hindering the sub-sector’s potential to transform the nation’s economy.
The association, citing the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said there are over 37 million SMEs in the country with only five million captured in the tax net.
The President, NASME, Degun Agboade, explained that there is need to get a large number of SMEs into the tax net, urging the federal government to introduce a waiver system to attract small businesses that have not been paying over the years the opportunity to pay up their arrears while also getting them into the tax net.
Agboade, during a public-private dialogue on tax and regulatory policy framework for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Lagos, noted that the unprecedented global attention paid to MSMEs in developing economies especially in Nigeria clearly indicates the critical importance of the sector for sustainable economic growth.
He added that statistical indicators on the potential of the sector towards job creation, poverty reduction and economic growth have continued to show positive trends and its expected contributions to Gross Domestic Product.
He restated the need for a conducive operating environment for MSMEs, maintaining that the current stagnation facing businesses resulting from multiple taxation, levies, fees, permits should not be overlooked.
“This public private dialogue is expected to provide a platform for industries and enterprises to exchange ideas and proffer solutions to support government of a best fit-tax regime that meets government’s objectives to generate revenue while enabling economic growth via MSME success,” he said.
