The House of Representatives has considered and adopted the report on the four controversial tax reform bills presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu.
The bills were adopted after a clause-by-clause consideration and approval at the Committee of the Whole, chaired by the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen.
The House rejected the proposal for incremental review of VAT rates and approved that the current 7.5% VAT rate be sustained.
Abbas commended the committee’s efforts, noting that there was no dissenting voice among members as he stressed the extensive consultations they carried out.
Presenting the synopsis of the report chairman of the Tax Reform Bills Committee,
James Faleke said the consolidated bill seeks proper tax Laws to eliminate ambiguity and provide clarity to the Nigerian tax payer of the implementation of government tax policies.
Key among the clauses considered and adopted include VAT distribution formula based on 50% equality; 20% population and 30% consumption as earlier proposed by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF).
The House also modified the contentious clause on Inheritance tax, saying, that an inheritance before dissolution cannot be taxed.
The Bill also looked into the argument of tax exemption within Free Trade Zones to boost export earnings for Nigerians, to ensure that it is not manipulated against the Nigerian tax regime.
Tax exemption on the personal income of military personnel in Nigeria was also proposed by the House.
In addition, the House approved the appointment of one representative from each of the 36 states to the board of the Nigeria Revenue Service establishment bill.
Most of the contentious clauses that raised tension had already been addressed by the committee that handled the reports, thus, making their consideration and adoption seamless.
