Political economist and founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership, Pat Utomi, has criticized the opposition to President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform bills, calling it misguided.
He argued that the focus should instead be on how taxation can drive production.
Speaking in an interview with Punch, Utomi expressed concerns about the current discourse, which centers on equitable revenue collection and distribution in a non-productive economy.
Reflecting on historical trends, he noted that reforms enabling increased revenue flow to specific Nigerian groups have rarely translated into better living standards for the average citizen.
Utomi advocated for a production-focused approach to taxation, emphasizing the importance of supply-side economics. He urged the government to use tax reforms strategically to stimulate production rather than imposing burdensome taxes on Nigerians simply to raise revenue.
He said, “Specific use tax is where the tax goes to a specific use, and the users must monitor the use of that tax. For example, in the US, there is a gasoline tax, that is tax paid on petrol. Every litre of petrol you buy has a tax. That tax is dedicated to highway maintenance. It goes directly to a highway maintenance fund.
“I think we need to begin to ask ourselves what are the optimal points in taxation in our country, and careful about the other functions of social taxes, which we have, because we don’t have social safety nets in government.
“Our taxes should be incentives for moving away from consumption to production that will diversify the base and grow it. I think we should begin to focus more on retreating production. How do taxes stimulate production? The supply side needs to be king.”Â
