President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday kicked against the recommendation of the National Economic Council (NEC) to withdraw the tax reform bills generating controversy, admonishing the legislative process at the National Assembly (NASS) should run its full course.
The NEC, at its 144th meeting presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima, recommended the withdrawal of the bills, days after Governors of the 19 Northern States who met in Kaduna on Monday alongside prominent traditional rulers from the region, resolved, among others, to reject the Nigeria Tax Reform Bill.
The Northern Governors and the traditional rulers, in a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, decried the contents of the recent Tax Reform Bill, positing they were geared against the North and other sub-nationals, especially the proposed amendment to the distribution of the Value Added Tax (VAT).
On September 3, 2024, President Tinubu had transmitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration.
Tinubu, who was on vacation in London at the time, sent the bills via a letter addressed to the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen. The letter was read on the floor of the House during plenary that day.
The bills are the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, which is expected to provide the fiscal framework for taxation in the country, and the Tax Administration Bill, which will provide a clear and concise legal framework for all taxes in the country and reduce disputes.
The others are the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, which will repeal the Federal Inland Revenue Service Act and establish the Nigeria Revenue Service, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, which will create a tax tribunal and a tax ombudsman.
Tinubu said the bills were designed to support his administration’s objectives and strengthen fiscal institutions in the country.
But responding to the positions of NEC and the Northern Governors and monarchs, President Tinubu, in a statement by his Spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, asked them rejected the withdrawal of the bills, admonishing them to allow the legislative process to run its full course.
According to the statement by Onanuga: “President Bola Tinubu has received the National Economic Council’s recommendation that the tax reform bills already sent to the National Assembly be withdrawn for further consultation.
“President Tinubu commends the National Economic Council members, especially Vice President Kashim Shettima and the 36 State Governors, for their advice. He believes that the legislative process, which has already begun, provides an opportunity for inputs and necessary changes without withdrawing the bills from the National Assembly.
“While urging the NEC to allow the process to take its full course, President Tinubu welcomes further consultations and engagement with key stakeholders to address any reservations about the bills while the National Assembly considers them for passage.
The president said further imputes could be made during public hearings at parliament, explaining that the tax committee which put up the proposal consulted widely.
“When President Tinubu set up the Presidential Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy Reform in August 2023, he had only one objective: to reposition the economy for better productivity and efficiency and make the operating environment for investment and businesses more conducive. This objective remains more critical even today than ever before.
“The Committee worked for over a year and received inputs from various segments of society across the geopolitical zones, including trade associations, professional bodies, different Ministries and Government Agencies, Governors, traders, students, business owners, and the organised private sector.
“The tax reform bills that emerged were distilled from the extensive work of the Presidential Committee.
“The tax bills before the National Assembly aim to streamline Nigeria’s tax administration processes, completely overhaul the nation’s tax operations, and align them with global best practices.”