The tax reform bills on Tuesday passed third reading at the House of Representatives.
The four bills — the Nigeria tax bill, the Tax Administration bill, the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, and the Nigeria Revenue Service Bill, scaled third reading during plenary on Tuesday.
On the last day of plenary last week, the House considered and adopted the report by its committee on finance on the tax reform bills and subsequently approved the recommendations.
On October 3, 2024, President Bola Tinubu transmitted the proposed legislation to the National Assembly and urged lawmakers to pass the tax reform bills.
Following the transmission, the bills faced opposition from various groups, including the northern governors, who argued that the proposed laws could harm the region’s interests. The governors had, at the time, asked the National Assembly to reject the bills and demanding fair and equitable implementation across all regions.
However, in January, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) endorsed the bills after agreeing on an “equitable” VAT-sharing formula.
In November 2024, the Senate passed the bills for second reading, and in February, the bills scaled the second reading at the House of Representatives after an extensive debate.
A public hearing was subsequently held on the bills.
Section 146 of the Nigeria Tax Bill proposed a gradual increase to the value-added tax (VAT) from the current 7.5 percent to 12.5 percent through 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029, while by 2030, the VAT will be raised to 15 percent.
The Senate is expected to pass the bills after which the harmonised version would be transmitted to the president for assent.
