The bill to make Corporate Social Responsibility compulsory in Nigeria has passed first reading. This amounts to making an act of goodwill compulsory after paying all the stipulated taxes. This is nothing but introducing a new tax regime. Hundreds, if not thousands of businesses have already left the country, and more are leaving due to unfavourable business climate. This bill, if passed into law, will further provide grounds for more businesses to leave. Whenever a business shuts down, jobs are lost and crime rate increases. It will not be surprising to hear the lawmakers say they want to travel abroad to find out why crime rate is on the increase in Nigeria.
What percentage of its social responsibility is the govt expected to perform with tax collection? Are the tax rates in Nigeria derived from targeted responsibilities of govt? Or are they arbitrary?
