Muhammad Nami, chairman of the Joint Tax Board (JTB), said on Monday that the federal government would soon end taxes on tomatoes and other raw food items.

Mr Nami stated this at the 153rd JTB meeting with the theme “Harmonisation and codification of taxes at national and sub-national levels, the key to achieving tax-friendly environment in Nigeria” in Abuja.

He said ending taxation on the ”non-taxable item” was part of the proposed tax reforms of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.

“For the informal sector, we do not want goods and services that are not taxable to be taxed.

“We will have an enumeration on the sector to ensure that those that are trading in goods like tomatoes and other raw food items are not made to pay taxes.

“Also, those that are not making up to N25 million will not be allowed to pay Company Tax or Value Added Tax (VAT),” the chairman said.

Mr Nami, also the executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), said Mr Tinubu is also determined to harmonise taxes and end multiple taxations in the country.

He said Nigeria was fortunate to have an administration bent on curbing multiple taxation, stating that the move was necessary.

The chairman noted that the harmonisation process would further reduce the number of taxes, block leakages, and boost revenue generation.

Mr Nami said: ”Once multiple taxation ends, there will be funds at all tiers of government to build roads, schools, and hospitals and to secure lives and property.”

He added, “This is not another promise that will not be fulfilled; the government has already announced the constitution of a committee.”

The chairman said he recently attended the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting to speak with governors for their support to end tax multiplicity.

“We are confident that with the inauguration of the tax committee by the president tomorrow, Tuesday, we will start work immediately,” Mr Nami said.

In her remarks, Nana-Aisha Obomeghie, executive secretary, JTB, said there would be adequate sensitisation on the harmonisation process.

She said the essence of the sensitisation was to ensure that the public was aware of ”what tax to pay and what tax not to pay”.

“People pay all manner of taxes, some legal and others illegal. Unfortunately, not all the money goes into government coffers,” Ms Obomeghie said.

Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, said state and local government councils receive much more taxes than the federal government, describing the situation as overwhelming for businesses.

(NAN)