The President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government has rejected calls to withdraw the controversial tax reforms bill from the National Assembly.
The latest position was communicated in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to the President on information and strategy on Friday.
“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the National Economic Council’s recommendation that the tax reform bills already sent to the National Assembly be withdrawn for further consultation.”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 while commending the National Economic Council led by Vice President Kashim Shettima and the 36 State Governors, for their advice, stated that 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.”
The tax reforms bill had also generated controversies with Northern State governors recently coming out to reject the sharing Value Added Tax on derivation basis.
The presidency’s statement said that Tinubu welcomes further consultations while the National Assembly consider the bill for passage.
“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.”
“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 statement further argued that having worked for over a year, the tax reform committee received inputs from different segments of the society.
“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 Presidency listed some of the high points of the bill as elimination of multiple taxation while making Nigeria’s economy more competitive by simplifying tax obligations for businesses and individuals nationwide.
It was also noted that the Nigeria tax administration bill which is part of the proposal proposes new rules governing the administration of all taxes in the country.
“Its objective is to harmonise tax administrative processes across federal, state and local jurisdictions to ease taxpayers’ compliance and enhance the revenue for all tiers of government.”
Others include the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) bill, which seeks to re-establish the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) to better reflect its mandate as the revenue agency for the entire federation, not just the Federal Government.
A Joint Revenue Boardis also proposed to replace the Joint Tax Board, covering federal and all state tax authorities.
An office of Tax Ombudsman under the Joint Revenue Board is also set to be established with the aim of protecting taxpayers’ interests and facilitating dispute resolution.
The statement also argued that the bills’ will effectively coordinate federal, state, and local tax authorities, “thereby eliminating the overlapping responsibilities, confusion, and inefficiency that have plagued tax administration in Nigeria for decades.”
“While there may be differences in approach or specific provisions of the new tax bills, what is not in contention is the need to review our tax laws and how we administer them to serve our overall national development agenda,” the statement read.