The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has announced that the committee is allocating billions of funds for its operational activities.
In a statement shared on his social media page (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Oyedele clarified that the controversial sum of N5 billion, provided by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to the Joint Tax Board (JTB), was intended to cover the budget of the committee.
To address previous concerns about fund allocation, Muhammad Nami, the former executive chairman of FIRS, revealed on Thursday that the service disbursed the mentioned amount to the JTB following approval from the presidency.
Nami explained, “The N5 billion paid to the Joint Tax Board was paid to fund the activities of the Presidential Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy Reforms two months before I left office. It was paid after we received a letter to that effect from the office of Mr. President signed by Zacch Adedeji himself.”
Additionally, while presenting a breakdown of the committee’s budget, Oyedele clarified that the funds would be utilized for the crucial ‘Data for Tax project,’ which he deemed essential for the effective reform of the country’s tax system.
The statement reads in part, “The Committee’s budget includes provisions for a national “Data for Tax” project which the JTB has been championing for over 2 years. The project was presented to the National Economic Council in 2022 and was meant to be funded by the federal government and the 36 states. However, it stalled due to lack of funds. Given the importance of the project to the effective reform of our tax system, it was included in the Committee’s budget.
“Other expenses included in the committee’s budget, which has the approval of the National Assembly, include setting up of offices for the committee in Lagos and Abuja, payment of salaries for the full-time staff engaged by the committee, travels and other logistics for over 70 members representing more than 40 institutions and stakeholder groups mapped to 6 different subcommittees, more than 30 Secretariat personnel and over 40 students across the country.
“In addition, the budget covers planned stakeholder engagements with various sectors and interest groups, as well as international engagements and understudy of some leading tax regimes around the world, and so on. The budget covers a period of one year being the lifespan of the committee”.
Oyedele noted that the committee has been mandated to ensure accountability therefore all expenses are properly documented and available for audit.
He said, “It should be noted that the committee was not set up simply to produce reports and recommendations, we are also charged with the implementation of recommended and approved proposals which need to be funded.
“The committee’s mandate includes ensuring prudence and accountability in the management of our national resources. It will therefore be a contradiction for the same committee to be wasteful or reckless in its own affairs. Members of the committee work on a volunteering basis and are only paid reasonable allowances to cover their out-of-pocket expenses as we cannot afford to pay the commercial value for their time, skills, and experience. As the chairman of the committee, despite working full-time on the assignment, I do not receive a salary.
“All the expenses of the committee are properly documented and available for audit. We collect receipts for fuel, stationeries, and virtually every Naira that we spend to the extent possible. Over N4 billion of the said funds transferred by the FIRS to the JTB for the committee’s work is yet to be spent and very much intact in the JTB account.”
