Governors are on the same page with the Federal Government on the Tax Reform Bills, according to Nasarawa State Governor, Engr. Abdullahi Sule.
According to him, the four Tax Reform Bills passed on 18 March by the House of Representatives contain the adjustments made to the original Bills by the governors.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele also said that the Senate would consider and pass the Bills after its recess.
Sule, along with some other governors, especially from the North, kicked against sections of the Bills as presented by President Bola Tinubu for Federal lawmakers’ consideration and passage.
They picked holes in the proposed gradual increase of Value Added Tax (VAT) from 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent and finally 15 per cent within five years.
At a media event in Abuja on Thursday, Sule praised President Tinubu for his listening ears.
‘He called us to a meeting and my colleagues mandated me to speak on their behalf and listed our misgivings.
‘The President asked us to send our proposal to amend the section on VAT and we did’, the governor said.
Sule added that the adjustment made by the governors is exactly what is in the Bills passed by the House of Representatives.
The governors were up in arms against the Bills and, after a National Executive Council meeting, requested the President to withdraw them from the National Assembly.
But the President stuck to his guns. He turned down their advice and asked them to take their grouse about the Bills to the public hearing.
During an empowerment programme in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Thursday, Bamidele (Ekiti Central) raised the hope that the Constitution amendment would be carried out by the 10th Senate.
He described the tax reform bills ‘as game changers that will redefine and transform our country’s fiscal environment significantly.
‘When enacted, the bills will address inequality and injustice that characterise our tax system’.
Under the proposed tax regime, Bamidele noted that employees earning N1,000,000 or below per annum ‘will be completely relieved of the tax burden’.
The Senator added: ‘Besides, all businesses with N50 million capital or below will now enjoy tax exemptions.
‘Value Added Tax will no longer be placed on exports and essential consumptions by the masses.
‘The essential goods and services include food items, education, transportation and medical treatment, among others.
‘The bills further propose 27.5 per cent in 2025 and 25 per cent in 2026, which according to development data, is conservative compared to 27 per cent in South Africa and 30 per cent in Kenya.
‘The House of Representatives has successfully passed the Tax Reform Bills 2024.
‘The Senate is looking into all areas of public concern.
‘When we resume plenary after the Eid and Easter holidays, the Senate will consider the bills again; resolve all areas that Nigerians have expressed concerns and pass the bills purely in the national interest’.
Bamidele explained the rationale behind the Constitution amendment.
According to him, it was designed to evolve ‘a more efficient and responsive governance system that will serve the interests of all regardless of political bias, ethnicity or religious affiliation’.
He said: ‘The Senate will continue to provide the legal and regulatory environment that will incentivise foreign direct investments.
‘We are convinced that this initiative will not only positively impact our foreign exchange earnings, but also stabilise the macro-economic landscape.
‘The initiative will, no doubt, boost the country’s revenue generation; improve the living conditions of the people and increase the country’s gross domestic product’.
Bamidele added that the efforts were exemplified in the amendment of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (Establishment) Act, 2024 ‘to establish an effective and accountable structure for service delivery, and adequate coordination among relevant agencies of government’.
He said the Act now guarantees the sustainability of the NSIP as a valuable tool for poverty alleviation.
The Senate Leader said: ‘We have provided necessary legislative frameworks and strengthened public institutions with capacities to deepen social equity and promote economic growth.
‘The frameworks are also designed to foster environmental sustainability, encourage greater access to qualitative health care, discourage social dislocation, eliminate terrorism and insecurity and reduce the gap between the haves and the haves-not’.
