How Multiple Taxation, Poor Infrastructure Are Killing Businesses – Stakeholders
Stakeholders in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector has called on the Federal Government as a matter of urgency to harmonize the tax administration of the country in order to avert the total collapse of the economy due to tax suffocation of businesses.
This was disclosed yesterday by the Manager of NG Buzz Executive, Joy Onwuche during the 2023 Mand-in- Nigeria awards night held in Abuja.
Onwuche insisted that enabling environment is needed to encourage and increase the efforts of domestic producers of goods and services in Nigeria.
Speaking on the purpose of the awards, she said, “the made in Nigeria awards scheme has been designed to contribute to this new strategy in several ways. Most importantly our awards in identifying and publicizing the most outstanding made-in-Nigeria products and services, will provide direct marketing for the awarded products.
“The awards will also encourage increase efforts by Nigeria’s domestic producers of goods and services as a whole to deliver products and services that are competitive against the local counterparts and imported alternatives on both domestic and foreign markets,by establishing high standards business activity models for other producers to emulate.”
One of the awardees, Ogbonna Uchechukwu., Chief Executive OfficerTPAVE VENTURES SERVICE insisted that poor infrastructure is responsible for lack of economic development in the country.
He said: “It has not been easy for us this recent time because most of what we use are imported. The cost of production is becoming too high due to the devaluation of Naira .We now find very difficult to even pay our workers because everything has increased .
“Most especially transportation because we transport this goods, places we used to pay N 150,000 is now N500,000 if not above so it is frustrating us.
“There are lots of things the government can do to reduce these challenges we are experiencing, if they can work on the electricity and support we the small and medium industries with loans it will go a long way because we are the strength of every nation. We create a lot of employment.”
Similarly, Moses Onah, Managing Director, AFRISHARE Limited, said:
“What is affecting local companies and production has to do with local policies, there are so many levies , taxes that we pay that are not encouraging. Secondly the power problem, we are working towards domesticating our products in Nigeria but we can not achieve it because of the epileptic power supply and the poor infrastructure because we have to move our goods, this is on the road, it take days, weeks and it is a big challenge to us.
“I think if the government can improve in the infrastructure, provide power supply and also see how to harmonize the multiple taxes different agencies come to collect from us, it will go a very long way.”
