The Senate has suspended legislative actions on the tax reform bills that President Bola Tinubu sent to them for consideration.
The four bills include the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024 -SB.583; The Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) BILL, 2024- SB.584; The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2024-SB.585; and the Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024 – SB.586.
The bill which has scaled through a second reading seeks to lift the tax burden on 90 percent of Nigerian workers as stated by the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele.
Since its introduction, the bill has sparked reactions, and major stakeholders from the North have called for consultation. After a meeting with the leadership of the Senate and the presidency yesterday to deliberate on the concerns, and further legislative actions on the bills the bill was suspended.
The Northern senators, led by Ali Ndume, made the biggest opposition to the tax proposals in the Senate. Others include Governors Babagana Zulum of Borno, and Sule Abdullahi of Nasarawa, Northern Elders Forum, NEF, National Economic Council, NEC, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Tax Policy and Fiscal Reforms, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, said yesterday that efforts were being made to protect the interests of states opposed to the proposed bills.
A 10-man committee has been set to meet with the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to resolve contentious issues in the bills.
During his appearance on ‘The Morning Show,’ an Arise Television program, yesterday, Oyedele said the Federal Government believed that the resistance would come from Lagos and Rivers states.
The chairman was disappointed that tax reform legislation was not passed, but he also said that the opposition’s pushback was not anticipated.
“We had not envisaged that there was going to be push-back from the other states; we thought the push-back would come from Lagos mostly, maybe a little from Rivers. It’s almost like we ended up with the people we are fighting for are now fighting us.”
According to Oyedele, the Federal Government’s proposal aligned with the provision of the constitution said: “VAT derivation I think that word is sensitive because people think about where it’s based on production. If they’re not producing crude oil, you don’t get any part of that derivation.
“Whereas for VAT, every state consumes. If you share anything based on VAT derivation, everyone gets something from it.
“The Constitution, with respect to stamp duty, under Section 163, should be shared based on derivation.
“So what we are proposing is not strange to our constitution. When it comes to matters of tax generation, we must recognise where they’re being generated otherwise we end up in a situation where one state will get a supreme court judgment.”
What is your opinion concerning the tax reform bill and it’s suspension?
