The Nigerian Senate has passed the four key tax reform bills through the second reading. The bills are intended to streamline tax processes and establish new tax institutions.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele led the debate on the bills. He said, “Bills will simplify the tax system, reduce the tax burden on small businesses, and improve tax collection methods. “
The bills propose establishing the Joint Revenue Board, Tax Appeal Tribunal, and Tax Ombudsman Office. They also reform the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and improve dispute settlement.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio referred the bills to the Committee on Finance for further action. Typically, this is when public input and debate are heard in the process of law-making. The committee will report back in six weeks.
Akpabio said the upcoming public hearing will involve experts, governors, traditional rulers, and other stakeholders. “We want to deliver what is best for the Nigerian people and the country,” he said.
President Bola Tinubu introduced the tax reform bills in September, following recommendations from the Presidential Committee on Fiscal and Tax Reforms he set up last year..
The Rush Looks Suspicious
However, the tax reform initiative has generated heated controversies, particularly for northern leaders who say the reforms are intended to favour the southern part of the country more than the north.
The National Economic Council then advised the president to withdraw the bill, but he insisted on exhausting the legislative process.
Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) has been one of the voices strongly opposed to it, saying the rush by the Presidency and some lawmakers looked suspicious.
“Reforms are necessary, but my problem is the timing and the issue of derivation and VAT,” he said.
In a chat with journalists later on Thursday, Ndume maintained his position, insisting that the Presidency should follow the advice of the National Economic Council and withdraw the bill.
“It is not that I am saying that we should throw away the baby with the bath water, but since the governors who are our leaders, the National Economic Council and many individuals have said that it is not that we should throw away the bills, no. Withdraw the bill, do more consultations, and then bring the bill back. Why are they in a hurry?” Ndume queried.
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