New Tax Laws Will Be Beneficial To Nigerians

By Gloria Ikibah

The Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Rep. James Faleke, has guaranteed that the new tax laws resulting from the reform bills will be Favourable to all Nigerians.

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Speaking with journalists on Thursday, Rep. Faleke gave this assurance after the House reviewed and approved the report on four tax reform bills in Abuja.

The bills under consideration include the Nigerian Tax Bill, the Tax Administration Bill, the Revenue Tax Board Bill, and the Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill.

“These bills took three full days of public hearing, we took memoranda from more than 80 critical stakeholders and after the three days, we resorted to a retreat for eight days, debating all the clauses for each of the bills.

“I am glad that members of the house saw that we had done a thorough job and they have approved all our recommendation.

“We want to appreciate our members and all Nigerians who showed interest in this bills and we assure that the laws that will come after these bills acceptable by all Nigerians”, he said.

The Chairman commended the leadership of the House for giving the responsibility to the committee of processing the tax bills and to lay them before the house.

He praised President Bola Tinubu for taking the initiative to amend outdated tax laws, noting that some have been in place since 1959.

According to him, continuing with these old laws will not support the country’s economic needs, business growth, or revenue targets.

The Deputy Chairman of the committee, Rep. Saidu Abdullahi (APC-Niger), pointed out that no bill in the 10th Assembly had sparked as much debate as the tax reform bills.

He emphasized that under Speaker Tajudeen Abbas’ leadership, the House was able to bring all stakeholders together to reach a common ground.

Abdullahi explained that representatives from various geopolitical zones and regional leaders were involved in the discussions, helping to address public concerns.

He added that the committee’s recommendations were shaped by the contributions of all stakeholders.

“There were never seen as a perfect document, there were proposals from the Executive and the puli hearing provided Nigerians the platform to make the better and from what we have seen today, the whole country represented by the lawmakers have assented to it,’’ he said.

Also speaking, Rep. Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere (PDP-Imo) said that the process was transparent as the consultants and the executive all made adjustments to reflect the will of the people.

“Even though we are from the opposition, we are so proud of this historic moment that is going to bring more people in the tax net, create more revenue for effective running of government.

“There is going to be efficiency in tax collecting system and even small businesses are well protected; for me this is very historic and that is why all of us worked with the government and our colleague to ensure it sailed through today,’ he said.

Also the Chairman House Committee on Defence, Rep. Benson Babajimi said that the issues raised by all the relevant stakeholders ranging from inheritance tax, derivation, VAT etc were considered by the house.

“It is a good day for Nigeria, the injection that Nigeria needs to move into the comity of nations had been applied and the House of Reps have sanctioned it so we wait on the Senate to do the same,’’ he said