The House of Representatives Minority Caucus has backed the Federal Government’s move to sanitise the nation’s tax regime, but called for a review of some of the provisions in the tax reform bills.
Recall that on September 3, 2024, President Bola Tinubu transmitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration following the recommendations of the Taiwo Oyedele-led Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.
The bills include 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 give a clear and concise legal framework for all taxes in the country and reduce disputes.
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.
Speaking exclusively with The PUNCH, Minority Caucus Leader, Kingsley Chinda, said commendable as the bills are, the N50m Company Income Tax Exemption proposal was a far cry from the economic reality of the times.
He said, “There are many parts of the bills that I do not agree with. The bills cannot be passed into law the way they came. A lot of work will be done to balance all the interests before passage.
“Take the N50m tax-free benchmark which many have commended. I don’t agree with that. With the inflation experienced under the All Progressives Congress-led government, increasing tax-free benchmark from N25m to N50m is a far cry from reality.
The tax-free benchmark should not be below N100m today.”
Chinda, who represents Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency, Rivers State, also made case for expansion of the country’s tax net, saying, “I don’t also agree on increased taxation. The government should rather increase the tax net. We will generate more income doing so than increasing taxes. More persons who ought to pay tax should be brought into the tax net and proper tax collected from present taxable entities. The leakages should be plugged. It is only when we achieve this that we can decide if there is need for increased taxes,” he added.
Chinda, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, urged his colleagues to use the window presented by the reforms proposal to review the country’s tax laws.
“Our tax laws need to be updated. We should rather take the opportunity presented by the tax bills to bring our tax laws up to date in line with contemporary realities,” he added.
As the National Assembly resumes for plenary duties on Tuesday, Chinda urged his colleagues to bare their minds on the bills when they come up for debate on the floor of the House.
“The parliament should prove herself as representative of the people and speak to the tax problems of our country. We should discuss the bills and pass them in a way that they will best protect the interest of our people and country,” he advised.
In a separate interview with The PUNCH, a member of the House representing Darazo/Ganjuwa Federal Constituency, Bauchi State, Mansur Soro, said the controversy surrounding the bills was not one the House could resolve without input from relevant stakeholders.
He said, “The 10th House under Speaker Tajudeen Abass has been very supportive of Mr President but the issue of tax bills is too contentious. The House cannot handle it in isolation. There is need for a broader stakeholders’ consultation.
“Since the return of democracy in 1999, there’s never been a time a national policy or a law was made affecting the sub nationals without the states been consulted.
“When President Muhammadu Buhari wanted to review some of the tax laws through the Finance Bill, 2020, he allowed the Governors through the National Economic Council to make input before it was transmitted and passed by the National Assembly.”
The PDP lawmaker further noted that “The provisions of the bills affect the finance of the states. As a result, the Governors should have been consulted for their inputs, “ stressing that “Mr President as the democratic champion that he’s known to be, should see reason in deepening our national unity through stakeholder consultation.”
He warned of the danger of ignoring the council of the National Economic Council, which in 2024, called for the withdrawal of the bills.
“Bypassing NEC in the discussion around economic laws of the nation can create a precedence never seen before in our political history,” he stated.
Soro further lauded some of the provisions of the bills, noting however that stakeholders’ contribution must first be taken into consideration before the debate on the floor of the Green Chamber.
“There are quite a number of provisions of the bills that are good like the tax-free benchmark and centralization of Federal Government revenues into one basket.
“The argument however is that the Federal Government should incorporate inputs of stakeholders that the provisions of bills will affect when passed into law, before we proceed with the consideration at the National Assembly,” he further told The PUNCH.
Also, Oluwole Oke, a member of the House from Osun State called on those opposed to the proposed legislation to allow room for debate of the general principles of the tax bills.
He said, “The first thing to ask is the legality of presentation of the bills. Is it legal and proper for the executive to propose such bills? Yes, in my opinion and the law.
“The next is the procedure of passing a bill . Has these procedures been followed ? Yes, we have. The bills have been gazetted and read for the first time. The bills should be presented for a second reading . Let’s debate the principles, merits and demerits and subject them to voice vote.
“If any member or group has any clause or provisions of the bills they have issues with, let’s discuss them. Let us listen to the public and the electorate from our constituents who elected us to represent them and bring back their views to the floor. After this, we can take a position.”