Evasion of tax payment 99 per cent of high-net-worth individuals is responsible for Nigeria’s low tax-to-GDP ratio of just six per cent, a Report by a consortium of think tanks and professional bodies has asserted.
The report, published and released by Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), Oxfam Nigeria, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Oxfam Novib, urged the government to capture the rich into the tax net.
After investigating Nigeria’s tax system, the organisations revealed the disproportionate tax burden on the poor and the vast untapped revenue potential from taxing the ultra-wealthy, reports The Nation.
Titled: “Taxing the rich: Nigerian fair tax monitor thematic report”, the organisations called for progressive taxation of 99 per cent of the wealthy evading taxation.
TJNA is an African network of civil society organisations, composed of think tanks, trade unions, feminist groups, youth-led & faith-based organisations, and community-based organisations spread across African countries.
Oxfam works to influence policy change in favour of the poor and most vulnerable while CISLAC is a not-for-profit and research organisation promoting active civil-society monitoring and advocating for legislative accountability in Nigeria.
Investigation showed that one per cent of Nigerians, who are the richest, account for 25.5 per cent of the nation’s wealth, while the bottom 50 per cent own only 4.7 per cent.
The report indicated that Nigeria could yield more than N4.59 trillion ($6 billion) annually from taxing just 4,690 wealthy individuals to reduce inequality and significantly boost national revenue.
It added that as estimated by Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam, Fighting Inequality Alliance and Patriotic Millionaires, implementing an annual net wealth tax in would raise more than $6 billion with rates at two per cent on wealth over $5 million; five per cent on wealth over $50 million and 10 per cent on wealth over $1 billion.
The says: “This would be enough to more than double the government’s health budget or reduce households’ out of pocket health expenditure by 40%.
“There are 4,690 individuals with a net worth of $5 million or more, with wealth totaling $107.2 billion, and 245 individuals with $50 million or more with a combined wealth of $56.5 billion.
