The Senate has passed for second reading the four tax reform bills that were forwarded to it by President Bola Tinubu for consideration.
This comes a day after the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, appeared in the Senate and explained what the bills are designed to achieve to the senators during plenary sitting on Wednesday.
During plenary on Thursday, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, referred the four bills to the Senator Sani Musa, APC, Niger East led Committee on Finance to carry out other legislative action and report back in six weeks.
The resolution of the Senate was sequel to presentation of the lead debate on the general principles of the bills by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, APC, Ekiti Central.
In his presentation, Bamidele said that they are “A Bill for an Act to Establish the Joint Revenue Board, the Tax Appeal Tribunal and the Office of the Tax Ombud, for the harmonization, coordination and settlement of disputes arising from revenue administration in Nigeria and for related matters, 2024 (SB. 583).
“A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, No.13, 2007 and enact the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act to Establish the Nigeria Revenue Service, charged with powers of assessment, collection of, and accounting for revenue accruable to the Government of the Federation, and for related matters, 2024 (SB. 584)
“A Bill for an Act to Provide for the assessment, collection of, and accounting for revenue accruing to the Federation, Federal, States and Local Governments; prescribe the powers and functions of tax authorities, and for related matters, 2024 (SB. 585) –
“A Bill for an Act to Repeal certain Acts on taxation and consolidate the legal frameworks relating to taxation and enact the Nigeria Tax Act to provide for taxation of income, transactions and instruments, and for related matters, 2024 (SB. 586).
Reacting, the President of the Senate, Senator Akpabio said that during the public hearing, experts will be invited as well as Governors under the aegis of Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, traditional rulers and other stakeholders, and assured that at the end of the day, the Senate would do what is goid in the interestbof the generality of the people.
President Tinubu had on September 3, transmitted the four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration. The bills were the products of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal and Tax Reforms headed by Taiwo Oyedele for the review of existing tax laws.
However, the bills quickly ran into a storm as controversies erupted when the National Economic Council, NEC, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, resolved that the tax reform bills should be withdrawn from the National Assembly by President Tinubu for wider consultation. Also, governors and traditional rulers of northern Nigeria, expressed opposition to the bills while Senator Ali Ndume later declared that the bills were “dead on arrival” on national television.
President Tinubu, however, responded by insisting that the bills should be allowed to pass through the required legislative processes at both chambers, saying that anyone who wishes to suggest any amendment can do that during public hearings.
