Bill Gates says one of the problems with the Nigerian economy is that taxes are too low

BILLIONAIRE businessman Bill Gates has attributed the current precarious state of the Nigerian economy to the fact that taxation levels are too low thus limiting the amount of revenue available to the government.

Nigeria is currently in the throes of an economic crisis with inflation running at about 30%, pushing the cost of basic foodstuffs out of the reach of millions. Speaking about the crisis at during Nutrivision 2024, a Pan-African youth dialogue on nutrition held in Abuja, Mr Gates pointed out that Nigeria’s tax collection rates are low, posing challenges to financing critical sectors like health and education.

Nigeria has one of the lowest tax thresholds in the world according to former finance minister Kemi Adeosun, who once pointed out that the country has a tax-to-gross-domestic-product-ration of only 6%. These sentiments have been re-echoed by Mr Gates who stated that the government needs such tax revenue to provide adequate facilities like healthcare.

Mr Gates said: “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 under-loaded centres or overloaded centres,” the billionaire said.

He added that for citizens to trust the government’s ability to deliver quality healthcare, there must be a commitment to effective management of health programme funds. Mr Gates also underscored the importance of running an efficient primary healthcare system with well-placed and adequately staffed centres.

He noted that building credibility in health programmes could lead to greater fiscal flexibility, allowing Nigeria to prioritize primary healthcare funding. Mr Gates also expressed optimism about Nigeria’s potential to significantly boost its agricultural output, suggesting that the country could transition from a net food importer to a major food exporter.

“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. 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,” Mr  Gates said.

He said agricultural productivity, particularly in rural and northern areas, is crucial for improving incomes. Mr Gates further suggested that by leveraging digital technologies and adopting improved seed varieties, Nigeria could trigger an agricultural miracle that would boost the economy and address equity and nutrition challenges across the country.