The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, urged the National Assembly to iron out the contending issues in the Tax Reform Bill rather than dumping it in its entirety.
Edun also disclosed that a total sum of ₦16.1 billion was disbursed to 22 manufacturing concerns from the ₦75 billion set aside by the Federal Government to stimulate real sector growth.
Mr Edun stated this, weekend in Abuja, during the Citizens and Stakeholders Engagement on the Implementation of Presidential Priorities and Ministerial Deliverables for the Fourth Quarter of 2024.
In his analyses, Edun stated that ₦3.5 billion was disbursed to 11,000 beneficiaries in five days from the Consumer Credit Scheme, which is targeting over 80 million Nigerians.
In the same vein, he disclosed that 25 million people have so far been reached under the direct benefits transfer.Edun projected that Nigeria needs to invest at least $20 billion per annum to achieve its economic targets and record a growth rate of about 6.3 percent by 2027.
Edun said, “We need significantly more growth. An additional $20 billion is the target we need for social infrastructure to facilitate logistics for agriculture.”
He highlighted that the government would rely primarily on increased revenue to meet this ambitious target and stressed the need for a robust tax revenue framework to secure the necessary funding, noting that sustainable economic growth hinges on this strategy.
He further stated that “To achieve this target and grow the economy, the government can only secure the funds from revenue.
Tax revenue needs to be increased to reach the desired levels. “We are moving from stabilization to accelerated growth with budget 2025 and the underlying Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) as our baseline,” he said.
Source: Ohibaba.com