The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has cautioned the federal government against increasing the tax burden on citizens of the country, saying it may result in people evading tax payments.
The trade union urged the government to urgently review its policies and ensure that tax reliefs are granted to more citizens that needed it while measures are put in place to assist those entities being taxed.
It also expressed concern over the antics of some state governments which it alleged have continued to drag their feet on the full implementation of the minimum wage law.
TUC warned the affected states to urgently constitute a minimum wage consequential adjustment committee to finalise modalities for the payment of the new wage.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, Tuesday, shortly after the meeting of organs of the union, TUC President, Festus Osifo, said many Nigerians are currently going through excruciating difficulties as a result of the harsh policies of the government.
As a way of reducing the pain on citizens, TUC urged the government to further expand the tax relief corridor for workers so that they could be able to use their earnings to cater for their families.
Speaking on the government’s policy on taxation, Osifo said: Comrades, recently you heard that government, brought out issues that are bordering called tax reform.
“Four bills that are currently sitting before the National Assembly on the tax, on the Nigerian tax reform.
“From the TUC we are saying that, as of today, the downtrodden Nigerians, they are passing through excruciating hunger. And they are passing through pain, as we speak. Yes, government has said that for those that are around minimum wage, thatthere is going to be tax relief.
“But we hereby call that this should be expanded much more. That need should be expanded so if more Nigerians pass relief, so that they could be able to use their earnings to cater for their families.
“Because as you rightly know, the cost of goods in the market is outside the rules. School fees have gone above board, electricity same thing, and premium motor spirit same thing.
“So, we want the government to expand the net of those people that they want to give tax relief. It is very, very necessary and it is very, very urgent. Then for those as well, that they are increasing their taxes, we want them to add a retainer.
“Because this is not a time where you have to increase the tax burden of the citizens. Because if you keep increasing the tax burden of the citizens, it is one of those things that leads to tax evasion.”
Osifo also commented on the GDP results for the last quarter of this year, describing it as a poor show for the non-service sector.
He said the low performance of the real sectors does give the economy a good standing, “because it is that sector that hires a lot of Nigerians, that will hire a lot of workers, because we want Nigerians to be engaged.”
“Sometime yesterday, the GDP results came in for the quarter that just ended.
“Yes, while we are quite happy that the economy is growing, but when you disaggregate, that GDP figure, you could see that the service sector contributed over 50 percent to the growth of that GDP, of the GDP. And the banking sector contributed higher in the service sector. We love that.
“That is quite good. But government must design policies whereby the agricultural sector, the manufacturing sector, the real estate sector, the construction sector will begin to contribute much more to the GDP.
“Government should encourage these banks to lend much more to the real sector of the economy.”
He also said the government was yet to fully deploy the infrastructure for conversion of vehicle engines CNG.
“We have heard in the news that the Port Harcourt refinery has started processing fruit. But we still want to validate that.
“So, we have reached out to our in-house unit, Port Harcourt refinery, to validate that. But beyond the old Port Harcourt refinery, we want government to expedite work on other refineries,” he said.
Onyebuchi Ezigbo
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