Stakeholders under the auspices of Young Business Owners have called on state governors in the country to address the issue of double taxation in order to encourage and motivate entrepreneurs.
This, among other things, was part of the demands made by young Nigerian entrepreneurs, intending business owners, and speakers at the Ekiti Middle Economy Conference, held in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State capital.
Speakers and panelists at the event convened by the ‘The Possible Platform’ include the project lead of the platform, Kadri Olawale; a cleric, Tunde Afe of the House of Faith Christian Centre, Toyosi Ayeleso, Tunde Akomolafe of Abba Infotech Resources.
Others are the National Vice President Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Chief Kola Akosile, and Temitope Awelewa of the Millionaire Academy, among others.
Addressing newsmen, Olawale said the conference was designed to enhance entrepreneurship and empower young people on how to make a sustainable income, start their businesses from point zero and build a giant business.
“Our intention is to empower as many as possible youth with skills, in training, how to operate Business processes so that they can build a sustainable business thereby reducing the circle of unemployment and poverty in the state through strategic and sustainable youth-centered initiative,” he said.
On the challenge of double taxation, he said government at every level must ensure that people have the right tax environment to do business and thrive.
According to him, “We want to encourage the new government of President Bola Tinubu to look into the issue of double taxation he mentioned something like that in his inaugural speech and we hope it will be domesticated in every state of the federation to ensure ease of doing business for entrepreneurs especially unemployed graduates.
“They should be given tax holidays. The period when the government will not charge them taxes until they are able to build their businesses to a certain level where they can employ others and fulfill other fiscal responsibilities like taxation.”
Olawale, who urged Nigerian youth to embrace entrepreneurship and other private businesses as government and other white collar jobs are no longer available, said entrepreneurs drive every big economy in the world.
“So our youths should see it as the only viable means to get employed and to become employers of labour because every nation is driven by those people doing businesses.
“We want also to encourage the government to invest more in the orientation and sensitization of youths as regards businesses and entrepreneurship because the government, at the end of the day, will be the most beneficiary as it will widen the tax net and reduce the cycle of unemployment and poverty in the state and the country at large,” he said.
He advised President Bola Tinubu to empower the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to use its agencies to reach out to the young brains with great ideas and empower them with capital.
Speaking in the same vein, Ayeleso noted that one of the biggest challenges Nigerian entrepreneurs are facing is the lack of or access to funds.
He said the government makes provisions for young people in entrepreneurship to have easy access to funds in most developed countries.
He said, “People are saying the young people should do more, but I am of the opinion that young people in Nigeria are trying, we are tenacious, we believe in making the impossible possible.
“It is important that the government should also play its part by making sure that young people have access to more funds to start businesses. If the government does business in Nigeria will thrive. Apart from that, it will also help governance in the country because young people are going to do a lot. Companies are constructing roads, institutions, and all that. It is simply because they have access to funds.”
On his part, Afe, who spoke on Agriculture Produce Value-Chain: Prospects and Opportunity for Starter Middlemen urged the participants always to think and get their priorities right, position themselves to create value for people, solve people’s problems for people and meet their needs as such money will be made.
He also counseled them to be exceptional and pursue excellence in the services provided to attract huge patronage.
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