The Nigerian government has announced plans to establish a committee to review the current tax waiver granted to certain individuals and organisations in the country. This decision was disclosed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, following a meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Bola Tinubu.
Minister Idris stated that the government aims to generate more revenue to fund development projects that will improve the lives of Nigerians. He emphasised the need to critically examine the issue of waivers, with the Nigeria Customs Service reporting a loss of over N1.3 trillion to waivers in 2023 alone.
The proposed committee will assess the existing waivers, allowing those legally supported to continue while reviewing others in the best interest of the nation. Minister Idris highlighted that the decision is crucial due to the significant financial losses incurred by the government through these waivers.
He explained, “What Council agreed today is that a committee is going to work on that because some of these waivers are backed by law, and therefore you can’t just wake up and say we are done with them.
“So, the government will review that and see which ones are in the best interest of Nigeria and how to continue to allow them to function. The most important thing to note is that the government is losing a lot of money in that direction, and that is why this very critical decision has to be taken. Only those waivers that are backed by law will be allowed to subsist.”