Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has stated that a large percentage of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria close shop as a result of payment of multiple taxes.
Osinbajo stated this on Monday in Abuja at the maiden edition of the Abuja SME Conference and Exhibition hosted by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).
The theme of this year’s edition is, ‘Solution Strategies for Resolving Tax, Regulatory, Packaging and Logistic Challenges Facing Nigerian SMEs’.
Osinbajo who was represented by the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mariam Katagum, stated that the problem of taxation on the growth of SMEs in the country is worsened by the dearth of reliable data for statistical analysis.
READ ALSO: BREAKING: Former Senate Deputy President, Ibrahim Mantu, Is Dead
Osibajo pointed out that, the high rate at which small businesses were going out of business was largely due to tax-related problems.
“The mortality rates of SMEs are very high, and among the factors responsible for this are tax-related issues,” Osinbajo said.
“Some of the specific challenges related to taxation are multiple taxations at the national and sub-national levels, non-clarity on the procedure and amount to pay and non-friendly tax administrators.”
He noted that this informed the Federal Government’s action through the Finance Act 2019 and 2020, leading to the amendment of various tax and fiscal legislations to align the Nigerian business environment with global standards.
“One of such amendments is the categorization of companies into small, medium, and large companies, based on annual gross turnover as seen in the Finance Act 2019,” he added.
“The Act also has as one of its strategic objectives support to small businesses in line with the ease of doing business reforms.”
 in Nigeria close shop as a...){kind=link}