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By Abubakar Mohammed,Zaria
A senior lecturer in the Department of Banking and Finance and former Dean, Business school, ABU, Zaria has kicked against federal government’s recent plan to increase cost of VAT and drivers license to fund the N30,000 minimum wage saying that when implemented it will spike inflation in the country.
Reacting on the issue while speaking to newsmen in Zaria,the financial expert said the increase will not only have negative effect on the price of consumables but also have attendant consequences on the nation’s economy.
Professor Sabo pointed out that VAT increase will kill government’s vision of job creation as it lead to high difficulty for firms to raise jobs level and by extension they may engage in job reduction thereby downsizing their man power capacity due to reduction in profit margin.
He said the firms will also automatically transfer their cost burden as a result of increased taxation on the consumers which will in turn imposes severe hardship and make the live of the citizens miserable.
The former Dean, ABU Zaria Business School wonder why other sources of revenue could not be properly harness to enable government meet it’s obligations.
“Take for instance government can put more emphasis on widening it’s tax bracket to compel firms that evade tax to appropriately bring them into the tax net.
“And what about oil exploration licenses revoked from individuals who owns oil wells?
“Did anybody cares to find out where the proceeds of such driveable goes to?”he asked. What about the revenues accrued in the oil and gas sector, the agriculture,Custom and so on? he queried
The finance professor advocated for judicious revenue generation especially from untapped sources as well as blockage of leakages in revenue generating bases to fund the minimum wage.
He queried the complete and almost total reliance on Federal Inland Revenue Service source to finance the wage when there are other revenue generating agencies that can drive resources to accomplish government’s intention on labour.
Prof.Sabo observed that the diversification of nation’s economy policy of the present administration if properly pursued will have solve the problem of funding the minimum wage.
He called for a rethink in order to avoid jeopardizing the country into another recession through bad economic policies.END
