FG advised to include religious institutions in tax net

An Economist, Daramola Omoyele, has advised the authorities to see spiritual institutions successful the caller taxation nett successful Nigeria, portion emphasising the request to tackle corruption successful taxation administration.

On Wednesday, successful an interrogation with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Omoyele said that the caller taxation reform, though well-intentioned, would neglect if it exempts the astir almighty portion burdening the powerless.

He acknowledged that the caller Nigeria Tax Administration Act (2025) introduced a unified taxation recognition system, stricter compliance measures, and caller levies intended to grow the taxation base.

“The authorities besides raised the idiosyncratic taxation exemption threshold to ₦800,000 annually, a determination meant to support the poorest Nigerians.

“Yet successful practice, galore volition inactive look aggregate section levies, depletion taxes, and different indirect charges that thrust up the outgo of living,’’ helium said.

Omoyele besides stated that the captious but often ignored facet of the betterment was the exclusion of spiritual institutions from the taxation net.

He said that successful today’s Nigeria, “it is astir intolerable to abstracted galore pastors oregon imams from their ministries.”

He said that the spiritual leaders were often wealthier than the institutions they led, owning fleets of luxury cars, backstage jets, and mansions portion their congregations struggled to survive.

Omoyele said portion immoderate of the spiritual leaders were besides corrupt, immoderate arsenic manipulate their followers utilizing religion arsenic a shield to enrich themselves without scrutiny oregon accountability.

“Many Nigerians are acold much consenting to wage tithes, offerings, oregon “seed sowing” than to wage taxes.

“Through these spiritual payments, immoderate leaders person built immense idiosyncratic empires, portion mean citizens carnivore the outgo of nationalist services. This is not simply a spiritual issue, it is an economical one,” helium said.

Omoyele said that taxation exemption for spiritual leaders undermined nationalist trust, arsenic citizens spot affluent spiritual figures flight obligations that struggling traders indispensable meet.

He added that it besides importantly weakens authorities revenue, arsenic tremendous sums travel untaxed done institutions that run arsenic fiscal powerhouses.

The economist argued determination were beardown motivation and civic arguments for taxing spiritual leaders and institutions.

He said that it would clasp leaders accountable for lavish lifestyles and monolithic untaxed income, uphold civic responsibility, support the poor, and reconstruct nationalist trust.

“Many spiritual organisations cod millions of naira regular successful offerings and donations that spell unrecorded and untaxed, adjacent though they often transcend the turnover of galore tiny businesses.

“When spiritual leaders unrecorded acold supra the economical world of their followers, flying backstage jets and acquiring estates, fairness demands that they lend backmost to the federation that sustains them.

“Preaching justness and fairness indispensable spell manus successful manus with civic responsibility. Paying taxation is not a sin; it is an enactment of work to society,’’ helium said.

Omoyele added that a just taxation strategy that includes each income sources would trim the fiscal exploitation of followers, galore of whom were pressured to springiness beyond their means.

The economists, however, advised the authorities to code corruption successful the taxation medication successful the country.

He said:”until corruption is tackled and each income including spiritual wealthiness is reasonably taxed, Nigerians volition proceed to presumption taxation arsenic oppression, not obligation.”

He noted that the large obstacle to effectual taxation successful Nigeria was not simply poverty, but corruption.

Omoyele said that galore citizens were simply not convinced that the wealth they wage successful taxes would ever beryllium utilized for the nationalist good.

“When taxation gross is mismanaged, stolen, oregon spent without transparency, radical suffer assurance successful the system.

“It becomes hard to person marketplace women and civilian servants to wage taxes erstwhile they spot nationalist officials surviving extravagantly, roads collapsing, hospitals successful ruins, and basal services failing,’’ helium said.

Omoyele said that owed to the distrust, galore citizens often asked, “why should I wage erstwhile thing changes?”

He said that arsenic agelong arsenic corruption remains unchecked, compliance successful the taxation strategy would stay low, careless of the law.

Omoyele maintained that Nigeria’s taxation system...