President Bola Tinubu has appointed Taiwo Oyedele, a tax expert, who recently criticised his proof of ownership policy, as chairman of the Presidential Tax Reforms Committee.

Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, disclosed the president’s approval of the appointment in a press statement he signed on Friday.

Oyedele is a fiscal policy partner and Africa tax leader at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a global tax consulting firm with presence in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINER: What Tinubu’s New Executive Orders Mean

In its statement, the government said it aimed “to transform the tax system to support sustainable development and achieve a minimum of 18% Tax to GDP ratio within the next 3 years without stifling investment or economic growth”.

“It should be noted that this committee will not only advise the government on necessary reforms, but will also drive the implementation of such recommendations in support of the comprehensive fiscal policy and tax reform agenda of the current administration,” the statement reads in part.

Oyedele had described the policy recently introduced by the government requiring car owners in the country to renew their vehicles’ proof of ownership certificates annually as illogical.

The new proof of ownership directive requires private and commercial motorists to pay N1,000 yearly starting from July.

He vented his disagreement with the government on the policy through his verified Twitter account on July 1.

“This tax is retrogressive. It is ill conceived and poorly designed. Apart from the payment which seems to be solely for revenue generation, and perhaps more for non state actors than for the government, it is illogical to have to prove annually that you own a vehicle for which you already have a certificate of proof of ownership issued by the government,” Oyedele argued.

He then encouraged the government to immediately reverse the policy to demonstrate empathy for business owners who would be badly affected.

“The tax adds complications to the myriad of multiple taxes which make doing business difficult and dampens tax morale,” he said.

“According to the NBS, there are about 12 million vehicles in Nigeria. If we assume that everyone complies and pays to the government, the tax will generate gross receipts of N12 billion annually before taking account of the likely high cost of collection and possible leakages in addition to the unquantifiable time, cost and burden of compliance by vehicle owners.

“While this tax will not necessarily stop the earth from rotating, it is wrong both in terms of signaling from a multiple taxation perspective and in terms of timing, given the recent fuel subsidy removal.

READ ALSO: Anambra Traders Lament Soludo’s New Tax Regime

“To be sensitive and demonstrate empathy, government should not impose any new or higher taxes on transportation, energy or food, which are the most impacted by the subsidy removal, the same reasons why the recent attempt to collect VAT on diesel needs to be reconsidered.”

He said that if the policy was not set aside, Nigerians might soon be asked to renew their birth certificates: “The tax should be set aside in the interest of good order and to prevent setting a bad precedent. Who says we cannot be asked to also renew our birth certificates, C of O, etc., on an annual basis if this succeeds?”