MAN advocates for tax harmonization in Nigeria to eliminate multiple taxation

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) applauded the steps being taken by the government towards taxation policies and advocates for tax harmonization in Nigeria to eliminate multiple taxation, noting that the government’s harmonisation of taxes had streamlined taxes paid by manufacturers.

The MAN’s President, Otunba Francis Meshioye, dropped the hint on Thursday during the 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Oyo/Osun/Ondo and Ekiti states branches of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria held at the MAN’s Secretariat in Ibadan.

The President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Francis Meshioye, highlighted that government reforms and policies, including the removal of fuel subsidies, floating of the naira, exchange rate policies, as well as increase in the monetary policy rate had negatively impacted the manufacturing sector.

Meshioye commended the infrastructural developments that have taken place, which have positively impacted the operating environment of the members in this branch.

According to him, the construction and rehabilitation of various roads in the four states, the harmonisation of various taxes to streamline payments that companies are to make, as well as the invitations to various committees and board meetings encouraged that the relationship is sustained and deepened.

The MAN president said “It is in this regard that I call on Your Excellencies to domesticate Presidential Executive Order 003 to make it mandatory for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of Government in your states to patronise made-in-Nigeria goods. That way, local manufacturers will be encouraged, and this will create more jobs. In addition, all state governments should work in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Works to ensure that the federal roads within the states and the ones linking them are rehabilitated/reconstructed to ease the movement of goods and persons.

“We will also be glad to see that the Oyo state government quickly rehabilitates the road networks in Oluyole and Egbeda Industrial Estates. We urge the state governments to prioritise the extension of the supply of electricity from the state-independent power plants to manufacturing companies within their states, as this will help ameliorate the current problem of epileptic power supply, high cost of power, and reduce the cost of production for the manufacturing companies that spend so much on diesel to run their factories.”

He called on the state governments to prioritise the extension of electricity from state-independent power plants to manufacturing companies in the country, stressing that it will help ameliorate the current problem of epileptic power supply, high cost of power, and reduce the cost of production for the manufacturing companies who spend so much on diesel to run their factories.

He also appealed to the federal government to make it mandatory for ministries, departments, and agencies of government (MDAs)to patronise Made-in-Nigeria goods in their states to encourage local manufacturers.

He maintained that all state governments need to work in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Works to ensure that federal roads within the states and the ones linking them are reconstructed to ease the movement of goods and persons.

The infrastructural developments that have taken place in the states, according to him, had positively impacted the operating environment of its members.

In his speech, the outgoing chairman of the Oyo/Osun/Ondo and Ekiti state branches, Lanre Popoola, said that the event is meant to deliberate on the issues affecting industries with the aim of proffering solutions to improve productivity at reduced cost.

Popoola, lamented the challenges faced by manufacturers in the country, which according to him, includes infrastructure deficiencies, foreign exchange volatility, and multiple taxation.

Popoola urged the Nigerian government to take proactive measures to promote non-oil exports, secure steady foreign direct investment and remittance inflows, promote and prioritise consumption of locally produced goods, as well as focus on reforming regulations that will allow states, corporations, and individuals to manage their own power generation and distribution.