From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has said tax reform bills transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu, recently, were not intended to undermine any section of the country.
Oyedele, who stated this, at an interactive session organised by the House of Representatives, on Monday, said the tax bills were aimed at ensuring efficiency and giving more revenue to states where goods and services are consumed.
He explained, “There is no negative thinking about any region or anything, nothing that currently section 40 of the Value added Tax ( VAT) Act, VAT revenue is allocated 15 per cent to the Federal Government, 50 per cent to the States and FCT, and 35 per cent to Local Government Areas.”
President Tinubu had in September transmitted four tax bills, including the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
However, the bills have been generating concerns in some parts of the country, with state governors, calling for the withdrawal of the bills to provide an avenue for more consultations on them.
Nevertheless, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, while speaking at the interactive session, said the tax bills will be thoroughly scrutinised in the overall interest of Nigerians.
Abbas, who noted that the House was yet to take a position on the bills, said the parliament owes the country a duty to ensure that the outcome of the bills is in the national interest.
He explained that the session was to enable lawmakers to have a better understanding of the proposed legislation.
The speaker expressed dismay that Nigeria, despite being the largest economy in Africa, is still struggling with a tax-to-GDP ratio of just 6 per cent, which is far below the global average and the World Bank’s minimum benchmark of 15 per cent for sustainable development.