The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) on Thursday said that the Tax Reform Bills newly signed into laws by President Bola Tinubu, will drive economic growth of the country.
The Director- General of NECA Mr Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, who stated this whilef feilding questions from newsmen on the sidelines of the ongoing 4th edition of the Nigeria Employers Summit on Thursday in Abuja, said signing the bills was a step in the right direction.
The four bills were, the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill.
Oyerinde said that the move by the President would drive the the nation’s economic growth.
“I am very excited about the signing of this new bills as the Organised Private Sector (OPS) have been struggling with the challenges of taxes, levies and fees for over ten years.
“The challenges of efficiency of tax collection has been an issue for every rational stakeholder for a long time.
“So, when Mr President came up with the Presidential Committee, we think it was a step in the right direction and the committee did a very humane job coming up with that bills.
“With the many controversies and unnecessary distractions that came up, at the long last, the bills have been signed today, which we believe is the beginning of the reform,”‘ he said.
He, however said that assenting to the Bills was one hurdle, while the implementation was another hurdle to cross.
“Implementation will always come with its own challenges that we are all not aware of, for now,” he said
Oyerinde said NECA worked directly with the presidential committee throughout the work phase of the Bills and made its inputs readily available.
He added that the association will be more interested in the implementation of the tax laws and ready to deepen engagement with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the principal agency to drive the conversation.
Speaking on the summit, Dr Ifeanyi Okoye, President of NECA, said it was organised to encourage all businesses, irrespective of sector and sizes, to thrive, create jobs and deliver shared prosperity.
He said, for over six years, NECA has remained firmly committed to promoting a stable, predictable and enabling policy and regulatory environment.
Okoye called on the Federal Government to demonstrate firm commitment to the actionable outcomes that would come out of the summit.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Muhammadu Dingyadi, commended the leadership of NECA for their consistent efforts in fostering meaningful dialogue between public and private sectors and harmonious labour relations, among others.
Dingyadi said the summit was not just a gathering to discuss policies but to collectively agreed on concrete and actionable strategies that would shape the economic future.
Also, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior, commended NECA for the consistency in the annual summit,
Tunji-Ojo said that the ministry, have been collaborating with NECA on various reforms programmes and agenda
He said the summit is an opportunity for the employers and the public to sell their ideas, policies and workplace to the private sector.
