The House of Representatives is set to begin debate on the tax reform bills presented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu today, following a meeting between northern lawmakers and zonal caucus leaders.
The lawmakers have resolved to ensure that no section of the bills harmful to the interests of the northern people is passed into law.
President Tinubu had transmitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly in September last year, following the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms. The bills aim to provide a fiscal framework for taxation, establish a clear and concise legal framework for all taxes, and create a tax tribunal and a tax ombudsman.
However, debate on the tax reform bills was initially suspended in November last year due to opposition from northern lawmakers and governors.
There were concerns that the bills would lead to the impoverishment of northern states which were already on lean allocations.
However, after a compromise was reached between the governors and President Tinubu, the Nigeria Governors Forum announced that the governors had agreed to endorse a modified version of the bill.
The modified bill proposes allocating 30% of Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue based on derivation, instead of the initially proposed 60%. The governors also suggested a revised sharing formula, with 50% of VAT revenue shared equally among states and the remaining 20% based on population.
Confirming the debate, a member of the House from the North West Geopolitical Zone revealed that the northern governors, who initially opposed the bills, appear to have backed down. The lawmaker said his colleagues, however, remain committed to scrutinizing the bills to protect the interests of their constituents.
“We in the Northern Caucus (of the House) met today (yesterday), with all leaders of the zonal caucuses in our own part of the country, including the Speaker (Abbas Tajudeen) in attendance, and we have resolved to ensure proper scrutiny of the tax reform bills.
“The House (of Representatives) will begin debate on the (tax reform) bills tomorrow (today), and we have agreed to work collectively and follow the proceedings diligently to ensure that we vigorously scrutinise all the bills so that no section that is harmful to the interests of our people is allowed to be passed into law,” the lawmaker said.
Ahmed Idris Wase (North Central), Mukhtar Betara (North East), and Sada Soli Jibia (North West) were reported present, and the Chairman of the Northern Caucus, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, presided over the meeting.
The rep member added that “though our governors (in the North) were said to have endorsed the revised bills, we believe that there are still sections that are antithetical to the interests of our people in the North, and we will follow through from the debate that is starting today up to the public hearings to be conducted by the Finance Committee, to make sure that every aspect the bills is not toxic.
“Also, when the clauses in the bills are being passed after the public hearings, we will painstakingly follow the deliberations to ensure that those toxic elements do not scale through that process.”
