The four tax reform bills transmitted to the National Assembly passed the second reading on the floor of the Senate yesterday, November 28, 2024.
After a heated debate, the gavel went down in favour of those that supported the bill, and the bill was then referred to the House Committee on Finance for further action and is to revert to the Senate in six weeks.
The four bills transmitted to the Senate by President Bola Tinubu on September 3 2024 following the recommendations of the Taiwo Oyedele led tax reform committee is titled “AN ACT TO REPEAL CERTAIN ACTS ON TAXATION AND CONSOLIDATE THE LEGAL FRAMEWORKS RELATING TO TAZATION AND ENACT THE NIGERIA TAX ACT TO PROVIDE FOR TAXATION OF INCOME, TRANSACTIONS AND INSTRUMENTS, AND FOR RELATED MATTERS”.
The bill generally has four aspects:
- The Nigeria Tax Bill – designed to eliminate multiple taxation
- The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill – to harmonise tax processes across all levels of government.
- Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill – Seeks to rename the Federal Inland Revenue Service to Nigeria Revenue Service.
- Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill – for the creation of a joint revenue board to streamline Tax administrative
The bill seeks to transform the nation’s tax sector, making it more efficient and aligned with global best practices.
According to the bill, the poor will be made to pay less tax, and there will be an even and fair collection of taxes across the states of the federation.
However Senator Ali Ndume, during plenary voiced out his stand on the bill, standing on the ground that the order paper, which determines the Senate business for the day does not contain the Tax Reform Bill and the invitation of President Tinubu’s economic team to the house, and therefore should not have been brought up without a supplementary order paper that will reflect the need for the presence of the economic team, citing the fact that the tax reform bill is a very sensitive and important matter.
“Mr. President, You can have your way, but I will my say”, Ndume told the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
In an Interview with Channels Television, Senator Ndume said that the Senate president is not supposed to sit as a judge, but a Senate presiding officer.
He added that his major concern is that the institution of tax needed to be protected by the 10th Senate because a lot of senators wishing to come back to the Senate did not make it because the people have lost their trust in the Senate.
Ndume said he has a lot of respect the intellect of The Taiwo Oyedele and his team, but not the way the Senate is going about the tax bill.
According to him, the bill should be withdrawn for more consultation and then brought back to the Senate, citing the fact that the governors and some other groups have rejected the bill, which is an executive bill.
Speaking on how bad he felt about the choice of words used by some of the President’s aids, Ndume said “One of the aids called me ignorant, but I didn’t respond to it because, during his first statement, he also said controversial and brilliant. The other one said I am lazy. We went to the same school; he knows his my performance and he knows mine.”
“Here we are with too many political undertakers and they are doing damage to Mr. President. The President is trying and within two years, he has done some things that are commendable. But, he is being beclouded by some of these policies.”
“The PIB bill was one of the most important Bill passed in this our democracy; it was not passed in one week and it was not passed in one session neither was it passed in one year, two years, or three years.”
The PIB bill was introduced when I was in the House of Reps and was not passed until I was in the Senate, and it is more important than the tax reform.”
Ndume added that reforms are important but need to be prioritised, timed, and must have the buy-in of the people because democracy is the government of the people, for the people, and by the people.
Senator Ndume further clarified that his grous for the bill are wrong timing, the VAT, and not carrying the people along.
