Presidential Tax Reforms Committee clarifies budget, expenses

The Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee has issued a clarification regarding its budget and expenses, following a recent story about some funds transferred by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to the Joint Tax Board (JTB) for the Committee’s work.

In a press statement signed by its Chairman, Taiwo Oyedele, the Committee explained that the funds were meant to cover various activities and projects related to its mandate, which include reforming the tax system, ensuring prudence and accountability in the management of national resources, and implementing approved proposals.

According to the statement, the Committee’s budget, which has the approval of the National Assembly, includes provisions for a national “Data for Tax” project, which the JTB has been championing for over two 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, but it stalled due to lack of funds. The project is aimed at improving tax compliance and administration by using data from various sources.

The stadded, “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.”

The Committee stated that it was not set up simply to produce reports and recommendations, but also to execute them. The Committee’s lifespan is one year.

The Committee assured the public that it was being responsible, prudent and accountable with every Naira of public funds it had been entrusted with. It said that all its expenses were properly documented and available for audit. It also said that over N4 billion of the funds transferred by the FIRS to the JTB for the Committee’s work was yet to be spent and very much intact in the JTB account.

Oyedele, who was a partner at PwC Nigeria, said that he did not receive a salary despite working full time on the assignment. He said that members of the Committee worked on a volunteering basis and were only paid reasonable allowances to cover their out of pocket expenses.

He also said in his statement: “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.”

He added: “We will be responsible, prudent and accountable with every Naira of public funds we have been entrusted with. We collect receipts for fuel, stationeries, and virtually every Naira that we spend to the extent possible.”