.Calls for a wide consultation
By Yahaya Umar, Abuja
Amid reactions for and against National Economic Council, NEC, yesterday asked President Bola Tinubu to withdraw the tax reform bills from the National Assembly to give room for a wide consultation.
It would be recalled that on October 3, President Tinubu asked the National Assembly , NASS, to consider and pass four tax reform bills.
Speaking to State House correspondents after the NEC meeting, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said that council members were unanimous that it was necessary to allow for consensus building and understanding of the bill across the country.
In this vein, Gov Makinde said, “NEC today took a presentation from the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms. Their main focus is fair taxation, responsible borrowing and sustainable spending”.
The Council according to him, is not unaware of the country’s underperformance across all indices related to major revenue sources, including the tax-to-GDP ratio and other indicators, adding that “after extensive deliberation, NEC noted the need for sufficient alignment between and amongst the stakeholders for the proposed reforms
“So, Council, therefore, recommend the need to withdraw the bill currently before the National Assembly on tax reforms so that we can have a broad consultation and also build consensus around these reforms for the benefit of the entire country”.
AljazirahNigeria reports that the proposed laws include the Nigeria Tax Bill, Tax Administration Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
Recall that, earlier, the Northern States Governors Forum, NSGF, representing 19 northern states opposed the proposed bills, following a joint meeting with the northern traditional rulers council at the Government House, Kaduna on Sunday.
In their reaction the governors asked the federal lawmakers to reject any legislation that may harm the region’s interests.
Further more, the group called for an equitable and fair implementation of national policies and programmes to prevent marginalisation of any geopolitical zone.
Meanwhile, the presidency had assured the 19 northern states governors that the proposed tax laws will not increase the number of taxes.
In a statement yesterday, Special Adviser to the president on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the proposed laws were not initiated by to disadvantage any part of the country as they were designed to improve lives of Nigerians and optimise existing tax frameworks.
