Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has stated Nigeria now spends lower than 50 per cent of its income on debt servicing, a pointy drop from 97 per cent earlier than the Tinubu administration’s reforms.
Speaking at PwC’s Executive Summit in Lagos on Monday, July 21, Oyedele listed key enhancements, together with clearing over $7 billion in unmet foreign exchange obligations, boosting exterior reserves from under $4 billion to over $20 billion, and lowering price range deficits.
He famous that the nation’s tax-to-GDP ratio has additionally grown to 13.5 per cent, up from beneath 10 per cent.
Oyedele warned that, with out these reforms, Nigeria may have confronted {economic} collapse like Venezuela or Zimbabwe.
He referenced a Zimbabwean banknote of 100 trillion {dollars}, which as soon as purchased only a loaf of bread, for example of hyperinflation.
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He stated mismanagement by previous governments, together with spending trillions on gasoline subsidies and printing over ₦30 trillion, practically introduced the financial system to break.
According to him, if reforms had begun 10 years earlier, Nigeria may have change into a $1 trillion financial system with a stronger naira and cheaper gasoline.
On taxation, Oyedele stated solely the highest three per cent of Nigeria’s casual sector may afford to pay taxes.
As a part of the reforms, the underside 97 per cent have been legally exempted to scale back stress on low-income earners. However, he warned tax evaders can be punished.
The new tax legal guidelines, signed by President Bola Tinubu on June 26, will take impact from January 1, 2026.
PwC leaders on the summit stated the reforms present a powerful framework, however success would require full collaboration between the federal government, non-public sector, and residents to simplify compliance and foster sustainable progress.
