By Jane Okafor, Abuja
ABUJA:The Senator representing Borno South in the National Assembly, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has cautioned the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS) and other managers on the proposal before the Federal Government for an upward review of the country’s tax regime.
Senator Ndume asked Wale Edun and other managers of the economy to stop misleading President Bola Tinubu with some of their economic policies, stressing that it is like they want to make the President look bad before Nigerians by proposing tax hike.
In a statement made available to the media, the Senator called the nation’s economy handlers to “Allow Nigerians to have enough blood in their body before you start asking for donation.
“I am not saying people should not pay tax, but do not go and tax people that are struggling to survive. You are paying somebody N70,000 as a minimum wage, and all of a sudden, the price of fuel went up to N1,000.
“It means that if you put the arithmetic together, you see that you would have continued paying me the N30,000 and allow the litre of fuel to be N100.
“It is like giving you with one hand and taking it with the other hand. Let the tax authority focus on those who are supposed to pay tax. For example, in Abuja, if you go round, there are a lot of properties in there that are not paying taxes. Fortunately, you have Nyesom Wike who stands up to do something about it.
“People are not paying property taxes. These banks, for example, are making tons and tons of money, and they are not paying taxes. And they are collecting taxes. If you transfer money, they are collecting taxes.”
