The Deputy Senate President, Senator Jubrin Barau, has revealed that some governors are opposing President Bola Tinubu’s Tax Reform Bills because they fear it may reduce their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Barau said the bills aim to stop taxing the poor and instead tax the rich.
It can be recalled that President Tinubu had sent the Tax Reform Bills to the National Assembly for legislation, but they have generated controversy and faced opposition from Northern governors and some federal lawmakers. The lawmakers claim that the bills are against Northern interests.
However, Barau said that lawmakers who oppose the bills do not understand their contents.
His words, “Some of the governors are against it because they fear it may deplete their IGR, as the bill will stop the taxing of the poor but the rich”
“Any NIgerian who earns less than N1million will not longer pay income tax
“So, what President Tinubu is pushing for is that you can’t be paying workers N30,000 or N70,000 as salary and you will still take away part of this meagre amount in the name of income tax. If you want them to pay tax, pay them bigger salaries so, you can tax them like it’s being done in some other countries.
“Meanwhile, the president has cover up the loss in income tax for the state government by increasing VAT going to states to 51%, while the federal government will only keep 10%. Meanwhile VAT on all commodities will now go to the state where these commodities are consumed”.
