No fewer than 12 states of the Federation have enacted the Tax Harmonisation Law recently introduced by the Federal Government as part of Tax Reforms in the country, Minister of State for Finance Designate, Dr Taiwo Oyedele, has disclosed.
According to Dr Oyedele, 13 other states have already tabled the law before their State Houses of Assembly for implementation, while others are in various stages of implementation of the reforms.
Dr Oyedele, who was appointed on Tuesday as Minister of State for Finance, spoke at the Continental Hotel, Abuja, during the graduation ceremony of 5,900 Young Entrepreneurs who were trained by MTN Foundation on different modules of entrepreneurship, businesses, and innovations.
The MTN Foundation has, through the Young Innovators and Entrepreneurs Training Initiative, provided training and working tools for over 15,000 young people since its inception.
The Minister Designate said President Bola Tinubu’s Tax Reforms are intended to ensure modernisation of the fiscal framework for businesses to thrive and grow, protect vulnerable populations, and reset the fiscal economic transformation of the country.
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While he applauded MTN Foundation for being in the vanguard of promotion of entrepreneurship and innovations, Dr Oyedele noted that the Foundation is building the economic backbone of the country through job creation, Innovations and entrepreneurship.
Dr Oyedele, who spoke extensively on the ongoing tax reforms, said the States Tax Harmonisation Law aimed to eliminate nuisance taxes, prevent harassment of citizens under any guise, simplify taxes, protect citizens’ rights as taxpayers, and end unfair tax treatment.
He maintained that transparency, fiscal discipline, and responsibility, as well as accountability, are key issues in any tax system.
Oyedele encouraged the graduating entrepreneurs to think big and take advantage of the opportunities that abound in Nigeria as a country with extraordinary potential, noting that financial discipline, good record keeping, building trust in their brands, and focus on values should be their watchwords in the journey ahead.
The Chairman of the MTN Foundation, Mr. Mosun Bello Olusoga, represented by a Director of the Foundation, Malam Surajudeen Yakubu, said the MTN ICT Business School Initiative has trained over 15, 000 young entrepreneurs since its inception.
He said the foundation would be providing about 300 million naira business grants to beneficiaries of the programme, noting that it was a way of contributing to the success journey of young innovators and entrepreneurs in the country.
While he urged the graduands to be good Ambassadors of the Foundation, Olusoga said the 15000 young Nigerians already empowered to build sustainable businesses would, in turn, provide job opportunities for Nigerians, create wealth, and add value to the society.