The controversial Four Tax Reform Bills will take the front burner as both chambers of the National Assembly resume plenary on Tuesday.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives were to resume on January 28, but shifted it to Tuesday, February 4 to allow various committees to attend to budget defence by ministries, agencies and parastatals of the Federal Government.
With the resumption on Tuesday, it is learnt that the National Assembly will continue discussion on the controversial four tax reform bills President Tinubu on October 13, 2024, submitted to them.
The Senate and the House of Representatives told Daily Trust on Monday that the bills would be given accelerated hearings when the Senators and House of Representatives members resume on Tuesday
It, is however, not certain if the Green Chamber will discuss the bill, as Tuesday’s session has been fixed for a valedictory session for its late Deputy Chief Whip, Adewunmi Onanuga, who died on January 15 after a brief illness.
For the Senate, which had passed the bill for second reading, it is expected to continue further discussion of the bills taking into cognisance agreement reached between the governors and the Presidential Committee on Tax Policy and Fiscal Reforms.
Earlier, the Senate had submitted the bills to its Finance Committee with the mandate to submit a report after six weeks.
The House of Representatives, where 73 northern lawmakers kicked against the bills, had suspended indefinitely the debate on the tax reform bills. The planned debate was called off in a memo signed by the Clark of the House, Dr Yahaya Danzaria as.
The lawmakers are aiming to pass the bills as soon as possible, with the target set for completion by the end of March, according to one source.
Different meetings were held while the NASS was on recess, one of which was the one by legislators, governors and traditional rulers from the North, who met in December and demanded the withdrawal of the bills, saying they would further impoverish the region.
Another meeting was held between the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Presidential Committee on Tax Policy and Fiscal Reforms, where a compromise was reached and the bills endorsed, but with adjustments.
It was learnt that the governors bargained for 30 per cent of Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue based on derivation, as against the initial proposal of 60 per cent, as part of efforts to address the concerns surrounding the tax reform bills.
They also demanded for the review of the sharing formula, with 50 per cent of VAT revenue shared equally among states and the remaining 20 per cent based on population, to ensure a more equitable distribution of resources.
With the compromise, Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule said the governors would now elicit the support of their legislators to ensure the bills’ passage in line with the agreed-upon consensus.
