Tax Collection Rate In Nigeria Is Very Low – Bill Gates

Bill Gates, the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has highlighted the inadequacy of Nigeria’s tax collection rates, which presents significant obstacles to funding essential sectors such as health and education.

Gates expressed these concerns on Tuesday at Nutrivision 2024, a Pan-African youth dialogue focused on nutrition, taking place in Abuja.

Gates addressed these issues while answering a question regarding possible financing strategies for extensive public health initiatives.

“Over time, there are plans for Nigeria to fund the government more than it does today. The actual tax collection in Nigeria is actually pretty low.

“If citizens want the education and the health things, as they develop the confidence that these programmes can be very well run, and our foundation is involved with a lot of the exemplars that are showing the way in terms of making sure the money is spent really well, running a very efficient primary health care system where the employees are doing great work, the centres are where they should be, you don’t have underloaded centres or overloaded centres,” Bill Gates noted.

The philanthropist emphasized that for citizens to have confidence in the government’s capacity to provide quality healthcare, there must be a dedication to the effective management of health program finances.

Gates highlighted the necessity of operating an efficient primary healthcare system, which includes strategically located and sufficiently staffed facilities.

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He pointed out that establishing trust in health programs could result in increased fiscal flexibility, enabling Nigeria to prioritize funding for primary healthcare.

“It’s exciting that we are driving the credibility of those health programmes and so that the citizens will feel like primary health care is amongst the priorities that should be very funded as you get some fiscal flexibility,” he added.

Gates conveyed a positive outlook regarding Nigeria’s capacity to enhance its agricultural production, indicating that the nation has the potential to shift from being a net importer of food to becoming a prominent food exporter.

He emphasized the importance of better access to credit, thorough soil assessments, and efficient advisory services for farmers as essential elements in realizing this change.

He said, “Nigeria today is a net food importer and yet, given the geography, if the right credit facilities and advice to farmers, soil surveys, things are available, there is the opportunity for Nigeria to more than double its food output, which would be pretty transformative, because it would mean that you would be a net food exporter,” Gates said.

“Instead of having to use very scarce dollars, particularly the current exchange rate to go buy food, you are actually bringing dollars in.”

Gates emphasized the importance of enhancing agricultural productivity, especially in rural and northern regions, as a key factor in increasing incomes.

He further proposed that by utilizing digital technologies and embracing advanced seed varieties, Nigeria has the potential to initiate an agricultural “miracle” that would not only strengthen the economy but also tackle issues of equity and nutrition throughout the nation.