The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has advised governments against introducing new taxes or increasing the tax burden on vulnerable people and productive sectors of the economy.
Oyedele spoke on the sidelines of the 2026 annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Bangkok, Thailand, where he presented the communiqué of the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four (G24).
The minister, who chairs the G24, said governments must balance revenue mobilisation with the need to protect vulnerable populations from additional financial 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,” Oyedele said.
Responding to a question on how developing countries could reduce debt-servicing costs without cutting essential public spending, the G24 chair said governments should identify internal savings and improve revenue mobilisation without placing additional burdens on citizens.
“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.
Oyedele noted that borrowing remains necessary to support economic growth but stressed that debt financing should promote employment and inclusive development.
“Borrowing and debt financing is a necessary condition for growth, and every country emerging, developing must be able to apply debt financing in a way that is overall of positive impact, particularly to stimulate job-rich and inclusive growth,” he said.
He added that limited public financing should be channelled towards essential services, including healthcare and education, while private capital could help meet other investment needs.
Addressing the balance between taxation and borrowing, Oyedele said neither approach should be considered in isolation.
“If you collect taxes, you raise the money now, and that itself has a lot of trade-offs. What taxes are you collecting? You collect taxes from the most vulnerable, and this will deprive them of money to provide food, health, education,” he said.
According to Oyedele, “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”.