Politicians who are found guilty of tax evasion have already presented themselves as lawbreakers and unpatriotic citizens sabotaging government’s effort to generate revenue to meet the demands of the society, and so should not be allowed to contest for any public office.

Integrity is the base on which trustworthy political leadership rests. Among qualities that must be found in political leaders, especially in representative democracy like ours, is respect for the law of the land and penchant for upholding ethical and moral standards, which will endear them to voters, who will elect them as their representatives in government.

Since the domination of the political space by moneybags, most of the people seeking to occupy political offices in the country today are wealthy to a level that they can afford the huge spending that now characterises the game.

Many of them are owners of multiple companies or businesses from which something good is expected as tax to boost government revenue. They are quite aware that tax evasion is an act of sabotage, a crime that carries some penalties, as indicated in section 40 of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Act 2007, therefore, to default is to dare the government, which then has a responsibility of imposing sanctions against the infraction. On this note, the current move by the Federal Government to bar tax defaulters from contesting election into political office is a welcome development.

At the 2024 strategic retreat for staff of the Joint Tax Board (JTB) in Abuja, the Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, announced a plan by the Federal Government to seek amendment to an existing tax law through a bill in the National Assembly. The aim is to ensure tax compliance and to prevent default by the political class. Oyedele presented an outline of key reforms on tax compliance among politicians and announced a plan to set up a national tax amnesty scheme. According to him, the proposed amendment to the existing tax law would disqualify those who fail to meet their tax obligations from running for political office.

Specifically, he said: “We are moving beyond a tax clearance certificate, which can be easily obtained. Effective compliance involves a thorough examination of tax declarations, filings and payments to determine if a candidate is genuinely fulfilling his tax responsibilities as outlined in the constitution. The issue arose in the last general elections. The argument was that the constitution does not explicitly list tax compliance as a qualification. We are rectifying this oversight to ensure financial responsibility among those seeking public office.”

Indeed, tax payment is a crucial civic responsibility in almost every country. Without taxes, it will be difficult for governments to meet the demands of their societies, which include construction of roads, electrification projects, security of life and property, building of schools and provision of health services. Tax evasion, which is a deliberate attempt to deceive the government and deprive it of its rightful revenue, is therefore, a crime against the state and is antithetical to development.

Occupying public office, to a very large extent, is about spending money to execute projects and implement policies and programmes. The money spent is part of the revenue generated by the government from various sources, including taxes. A politician seeking election into public office should be somebody whose actions are supportive of the government laws and efforts at providing necessary services for the people. People with questionable records of violating the law may not be fit to hold public office. A tax defaulter who is voted into office may not give room for accountability for what happens in his office or area of control because, already, he has perfected the act of deceiving the government and denying it of its rightful revenue.

In the days of Tunde Fowler as chairman of FIRS, the agency, in collaboration with banks, made a move against accounts of tax defaulters whom he alleged were raking in billions of naira in the country but were not paying taxes. At a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos, Fowler noted that most of such taxpayers who had N1 billion to N5 billion in their accounts had no Taxpayers Identification Number (TIN), and those who had TIN had refused to file any tax returns as taxpayers.

While we encourage the government to do everything possible to enforce tax laws with a view to boosting the level of compliance by politicians and other taxpayers, there is need to work on the likely reasons for evasion in Nigeria, which include complex tax regulations, economic pressures, high rates and multiplicity. There is a need to strengthen the tax structure, improve regulation, reduce rates and create more awareness. The politicians must know that evasion is detrimental to the economy.

A tax defaulter seeking to be elected into political office, may be as president, governor, lawmaker at any level or local government chairman, will lack the moral ground to enforce tax laws or compel people and companies to pay tax. Besides, for whatever number of years he is going to spend in public office, he would make sure that none of his businesses pay tax.  They must live up to their civic responsibility of paying taxes as patriotism demands, not only to lay a good example for the youth who are the leaders of tomorrow, but also to strengthen the financial capacity of the government to perform its constitutional responsibilities to society.