Use appropriate taxes to finance 2018 budget, Labour tells FG

Labour and its civil society allies have urged the federal government to ensure all individuals and multinationals are made to pay appropriate taxes to finance the budget deficit.
Speaking at a two day meeting organised by Public Service International on increasing Trade Union and Civil Society participation in the fight against Illicit financial flows in Nigeria, Deputy President of NLC, Comrade Peters Adeyemi, said it was unfair for government to continue to tax poor workers while the rich evade tax.
“What we are saying is that for government to raise money to finance the budget without necessarily putting burden on the working poor, particularly Public and Civil servants.
We are saying government must ensure tax justice that the rich must be properly taxed against what we are currently having in the country today.” Speaking further, Comrade Adeyemi who is also the Vice president of Public Service International worldwide (PSI) said government has not business increasing the price of Petroleum products or excessively taxing workers to make up the deficit in the budget.
While commending the war against corruption by present administration, the labour said it is not yet uhuru until the Nigeria masses started feeling the impact on infrastructural development in the country.
Also in a resolution after the meeting, the group urged government to reduce tax incentives granted to multinational companies in Nigeria.
The resolutions which were read by Comrade James Eustace of the NLC also said the fight against illicit financial flows will achieve more results with the involvement of all stakeholders.
“We believe that the government of Nigeria can collect more revenue by reducing unnecessary tax incentives to multinational companies.
This will help to address the challenges of funding public infrastructure development, provide and expand social protection benefits to Nigerians, especially the indigent ones, and assist in wages of public sector workers, as well as aid employment creation.”

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