Tax reforms will ease burden on poor, not deepen poverty, says Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday defended the Federal Government’s proposed tax reforms, saying they are designed to ease the burden on small businesses and low-income earners rather than worsen poverty.

Speaking at an interfaith breaking of fast for Ramadan and Lent at the State House in Abuja, Shettima said the reforms would eliminate multiple levies and charges that have weighed heavily on ordinary Nigerians.

The Vice President represented President Bola Tinubu at the event, which was attended by members of the Federal Executive Council, the Governor of the Central Bank, special advisers, senior special assistants, and heads of agencies and parastatals.

He said the tax measures were carefully planned to improve livelihoods, dismissing claims by critics that they were intended to “pulverise and pauperise” the poor.

“The same people who are shouting hoarse that the tax reform is meant to pulverise further and pauperise the poor are far from the truth,” Shettima said, urging government officials to actively educate Nigerians about the policy.

He called on political appointees to become advocates of the administration’s reforms and counter what he described as misinformation from opposition parties.

According to the Vice President, the government is committed to introducing policy instruments that will lift Nigerians out of poverty without increasing their hardship.

Shettima also highlighted what he described as key gains from the administration’s broader economic reforms, including growth in foreign exchange reserves, the streamlining of exchange rates, and the removal of the fuel subsidy.