Port Harcourt, Rivers State — The Basis for Partnership Initiatives within the Niger Delta (PIND), in partnership with the Tax Justice and Governance Platform, efficiently held a landmark occasion addressing the challenges that a number of taxation and unlawful levies impose on small companies within the Niger Delta.
Hosted on October 24, the convening drew collectively representatives from enterprise membership organisations (BMOs), civil society organisations (CSOs), tax specialists, and policymakers to strategise on tax reforms conducive to enterprise progress within the area.
The gathering was pushed by findings from PIND’s 2022 evaluation, which underscored the undue tax burdens confronted by small companies in Abia, Delta, and Rivers States.
The evaluation highlighted a proliferation of taxes from totally different ranges of presidency, exacerbated by unlawful levies that stifle small enterprise progress.
In the course of the occasion, stakeholders explored pathways for harmonising tax administration and implementing digital tax assortment processes to boost transparency and curb exploitation.
Talking on behalf of PIND’s Government Director Tunji Idowu, Chuks Ofulue, PIND’s Advocacy Supervisor, emphasised the importance of the discussions, saying, “The discussions right here at present reaffirm the pressing want for reforms within the tax system to guard small companies within the Niger Delta. We’re dedicated to working with our companions to make sure that these reforms are applied in order that small companies can thrive and contribute to the area’s financial progress.”
A notable consequence of the convening was the formation of a 15-member technical working group, composed of BMOs, CSOs, and tax specialists, charged with driving advocacy for streamlined and digitised tax methods within the Niger Delta.
The group can even work on creating a tax matrix to information policymakers and legislators in lowering the tax burden on small companies.
Along with setting reform agendas, the occasion featured the premiere of a documentary that captures the influence of extreme taxation and unlawful levies on Niger Delta companies. This documentary might be circulated amongst stakeholders as a device for advocacy.
PIND, alongside the Tax Justice and Governance Platform and with funding from OXFAM beneath the USAID SCALE challenge, is dedicated to utilizing its networks to assist and monitor tax reform efforts in any respect ranges of presidency, making certain that these initiatives proceed to guard and empower small companies within the Niger Delta.
