The House of Representatives has passed the four tax reform bills presented before it by President Bola Tinubu for second reading.
The bills, which include the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, were transmitted to the National Assembly in 2024.
Prior to the passage, the bills faced opposition from various quarters, particularly from northern governors and opposition politicians.
During Wednesday’s plenary session, lawmakers expressed their support for the bills, but some raised concerns about potential contradictions with the 1999 constitution.
Sada Soli, a lawmaker, emphasized the need for clear definitions on the issue of derivation to avoid ambiguity.
Other lawmakers drew attention to the 40 acts that the bill seeks to amend and requested that they be laid before Parliament. They also expressed concerns about multiple taxation involving property purchases, which the bill proposes should be paid by both the buyer and seller.
It should be noted that the bills got the backing of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum early in the year following opposition to it late last year.
The bills modified by the governors propose 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.
