An entrepreneur, Mr Nerus Ekezie, has urged the Federal Government to accelerate and enact the tax reform bill to spur economic growth.
Ekezie, former Director of the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday.
He stressed that for the country to sustain its growth projection, the government should ensure the tax reform bill is enacted.
“Where employee tax is reduced and lower cadre workers are exempted from paying taxes to the government.
“Even corporate income tax will be reduced, because this tends to boost the economy and facilitate economic development,” Ekezie said.
He noted that reforming the tax system would address manufacturers’ challenges associated with multiple taxes.
“This will enable manufacturers and small business owners to be less challenged and could expand their businesses into new frontiers,” Ekezie said.
He noted that the government should invest more in infrastructural renewal as a catalyst for boosting the domestic economy.
Also, Mr Chris Nemedia, former Director of Research at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said that the government should invest more in the non-oil sector because it is pivotal for economic growth in the next quarter.
“The government should encourage more private sector investment in the solid mineral sub-sector and its value chain because of its immense revenue prospect to the country.
“More appropriate regulation should be in place to mitigate illegal exploitation of minerals without government approvals,” Nemedia said.
He stressed that the government could accord more priority to the agricultural sector, because it is a key driver of economic growth.
“The government raising its budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector could mechanise its practice and contribute adequately to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projections.
“Which the country could achieve by harnessing the comparative advantage in agricultural production across the country,” Nemedia said.
NAN reports that Nigeria’s economy grew by 3.84 per cent year-on-year in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2024, marking an improvement from 3.46 per cent recorded in both the same period of 2023 and the preceding quarter.
The latest GDP data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that the growth was largely driven by the Services sector, which expanded by 5.37 per cent and contributed 57.38 per cent to the country’s total GDP.
For the full year 2024, Nigeria’s GDP grew by 3.40 per cent, an increase from 2.74 per cent in 2023. (NAN)
