FG Has No Plans To Recruit Touts For Tax Collection- Oyedele

The Chairman of the Presidential Tax Reform Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has denied his previous comment that the federal government may consider area boys to collect taxes.

The chairman made the clarification after he was criticized for planning to recruit thugs to collect revenue for the government.

Oyedele said in a post on his social media handle that the committee “cannot recruit a person to do the job they are already doing, whether they are legally engaged or otherwise.”

The Chairman said the issue he addressed during a recent interview on Channels TV was how to get the buy-in of stakeholders who currently collect these taxes.

During the interview on Channels TV, Oyedele had said that the tax reform will consider “training area boys and touts and give them uniforms” to enforce collection.

He said, “We are also thinking about how to bring all stakeholders on board because at the end of the day, if you try to stop the livelihood of anyone whether they are earning it legitimately or not, it can create a crisis that will be difficult to manage.

“Once you bring everyone in, maybe, we need to train all these area boys and touts and give them uniform and then, they will be the ones to ask you to show the evidence on your phone and they will be paid a decent salary.”

But the former PricewaterhouseCoopers Tax Lead said his comment was sensationalised and taken out of context.

Oyede said in many cases, area boys are engaged to collect over 40 different taxes, which they often do through crude, unorthodox means and harassment.

He said, “Painfully, these taxes yield very little revenue to the government despite the huge burden they place on small businesses, artisans, and transporters.

“We propose to eliminate many of these taxes and harmonise a few of them that may be appropriate and devise a civil means of collection using mobile phones.”