FG unveils plans to reduce collectable taxes.

The Presidential Committee on Tax Reforms and Fiscal Policy has revealed plans to reduce the number of collectable taxes and levies from 60 to a more manageable single-digit number.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, stated this on Tuesday while briefing correspondents after submitting his team's maiden report on its 'quick-win achievements in the first thirty days' to President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa in Abuja.

Accompanied by the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Zacch Adedeji, he said that the committee's aim is to consolidate these taxes at all levels of government.

Oyedele remarked that his team had commenced the process of rewriting the nation's tax laws towards the evolution of a standard and more effective tax administration.

Citing the circumstances around the Value Added Tax (VAT), he said the task of restructuring the tax system in the country would not be achievable through the courts but by assembling stakeholders for deliberations and approaching the National Assembly.

According to Oyedele, there are more than 200 different taxes in Nigeria, which significantly burden the population and make life challenging for the citizenry.

He pointed out that approximately 96% of the total revenue collected by the federal, state, and local governments is derived from a small set of fewer than 10 taxes in the country.

While noting that Nigeria is currently at a critical phase of revising its laws and regulations on taxation, he disclosed that the committee has engaged with the Senate and the House of Representatives with the objective of addressing all necessary reforms.

Oyedele further stated that the committee has commenced public consultation and stakeholder engagement on tackling some of the controversy around the VAT law asserting that solutions will only come from Nigerians and not from the law court.

He stated: 'So, all we did today was to formally present the report to Mr. President, but I will say that once we get the nod from Mr. President, it will be like just switching on the tap and then the implementation starts immediately.

'There's so much work for us to do, this is just Milestone #1, and it is what we call the quick wins. The second phase, which is where we are now, is the critical reforms. Those critical reforms involve even rewriting our major tax laws, addressing something that everybody in this room will be very much familiar with; multiplicity of taxis.

'We have over...