Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has warned against imposing new tax burden on vulnerable people and productive sectors of the economy at a time of global economic uncertainty.
Mr Oyedele soke to the Group of Twenty-Four, G24, on the sidelines of the 2026 annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund, IMF and World Bank in Bangkok, Thailand, stressing that it is a wrong time for governments to impose new taxes on its citizen especially the less privileged, due to economic pressure.
“This is the wrong time to impose new taxes or increase the burden of tax, particularly on the vulnerable population and productive sectors of the economy,” Mr Oyedele, who is also chairman of the G24, said.
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“The measures, like you ask, will be first for every country to look inwards, looking inward to find areas of savings, areas of revenue mobilisation, but also bearing in mind this is the wrong time to impose new taxes or increase the burden of tax, particularly on the vulnerable population and productive sectors of the economy,” he said of measures to support the economy.
Speaking on the balance between taxation and debt, he noted that striking a balance remains key.
“Debt is future taxes, so it’s not one or the other. It’s to strike a balance, bearing in mind ultimately that the essence of tax and of debts is to cater for the people.”
The minister explained that debt remains necessary for economic growth but should be used to support other investments, while public funds should prioritise health and education.
Meanwhile, in its communique, Iyabo Masha, the Director of the G24 Secretariat, has called for cheaper occasional financing to ease the burden, noting that there has been a change to global debt restructuring architecture, and this could help countries secure faster resolutions of their debt concerns.
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