Responding to a comment by Senator Ben Bruce at the public hearing of the Joint Session of the National Assembly on the 2017 Budget, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma said “a view has been expressed that we should not increase taxes, that we should broaden tax collection instead, that is precisely what is in the budget.”
Senator Bruce had given the impression that the Federal Government was about to increase taxes, a development he said will further worsen the economic fortunes of individuals and businesses, but the Minister said “there is no increase in VAT, there is no increase in company’s income tax, there is no increase at all in taxes, but people who are not paying taxes must be made to pay. So the idea is to increase revenue by broadening the tax base, not by increasing taxes.”
