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Zawya
29-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Nigeria: Reps set to transmit harmonised tax reform bills for Tinubu's assent
…approve 50% for TetFund, 15% for education loan fund, 8% for Nigeria Information Technology Development Fund The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed through third reading the harmonised tax reform bills, which provide for 50 per cent of revenues accrued tax for the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, 15 per cent to the Education Loan Fund and 8 per cent to dose Nigeria Information Technology Development Fund. The lawmakers had during the Committee of the Whole adopted the recommendations of the House and Senate Conference Committee co-chaired by Hon. Abiodun James Faleke. Recall that the tax reform bills were transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in October 2024 for further legislative consideration. Leading debate on the Conference Committee's recommendations, Faleke explained that there were 45 areas of difference in the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 12 areas of difference in the Nigeria Revenue Service Bill, 9 areas of difference in the Joint Revenue Board Bill and 46 areas of difference in the Nigeria Tax Bill, adding that all grey areas were resolved ahead of the passage. During the voting on the clauses, the lawmakers unanimously adopted the imposition of four per cent development levy on the assessable profit of all companies chargeable to tax under chapters 2 and 3, except small companies and non-resident companies. The lawmakers also agreed that the levy shall be collected by the Nigeria Revenue Service and paid into a special account created for the same purpose. In the sharing formula, the House adopted 50 percent of the tax would go to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, 15 percent to the Education Loan Fund (up from 3 percent agreed by the House), and 8 percent to the Nigeria Information Technology Development Fund. Similarly, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) is to get 8 percent (down from 10 percent earlier agreed by both chambers), the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI) is to get 4 percent from the fund, defence and security infrastructure is to get 10 per cent while cyber security fund will get 5 per cent. Meanwhile, the Social Security Fund, Nigeria Police Trust Fund, and National Sports Development Fund were excluded from the list of beneficiaries passed by the House of Representatives. The House also adopted a new clause 158 which imposes a 5 per cent surcharge on chargeable fossil fuel products provided or produced in Nigeria and shall be collected at the time a chargeable transaction occurs. However, the controversial Value Added Tax (VAT) sharing formula was not part of the areas of disagreement between the two legislative chambers. In his intervention, Chairman, House Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, Hon. Ahmed Jaha who commended the House leadership for making the tax reform bills a success. He, however, warned against unethical legislative practice after the passage of the tax reform bills. He said: 'Because I know what actually transpired from day one to date, the pressure you have accommodated, the diplomatic approach you have employed to make this bill a reality. 'And after this I want to equally commend the Chairman of the Finance Committee. He has proved to us that he is not only an elder, but a very responsible elder on the floor of this House. Very, very responsible. 'Because we know he could have done a lot of pressure from people like us. And he gave us the opportunity to air out our views about the position of Nigerians on this bill. And we thank you for that. 'And I equally want to thank our Caucus leaders, especially Honourable Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, Honourable Betara, Honourable Wase, Sada Soli, Fred Agbedi and all other Caucus leaders. Honourable Igariwe from the South East for providing the required leadership too. Nicholas Mutu for the Southern part. 'They have contributed immensely, sir, in making this bill a reality. Before I sit down, I want to throw a warning to the people that are crossing the T's and dotting the I's in a clean-up process as part of our resolution. We have resolved that while cleaning these documents, if T is not crossed as far as this bill is concerned, do not cross it. 'If I is not dotted, do not dot it. Because we have the content of what is passed, not only in the conference committee, but what was passed by the two chambers before we come to a conference committee level. Please and please, we beg you, you do the needful by transpiring exactly what was passed to the principal officers for onward transmission to the executive for assent. 'Thank you. Sir, we have a resolution on this floor of the House that each and every page of a sensitive bill of this nature should be signed by the presiding officers before transmitting to the executive. Because we had situations in the past where a bill had a very good intention and members have done the due diligence. 'Before you realize what is happening, before transmitting to the president, they will amend one or two things and at the end of the day, the president will withhold assent because it was not the position of the House as well as that of the Senate. So we beg you, please, we have suffered a lot about it,' Jaha noted. In his remarks, Kalu acknowledged that: 'It's been a long journey and all this while he held the ground firmly without losing his cool, carrying everybody along. He deserved to be the chairman of that committee and even more, you have really persevered through diplomacy, through every, you have employed every leadership tool to make sure that Nigeria received the best and we are proud of you, to be honest, I think from the leadership we are proud of you and also the leader of the house and the minority leaders. 'The truth is that on the part of the leadership of the majority, the leader also played a major role in making sure that stabilisation was there in the mind of those who were agitating and those who were supporting to get more information to support with the right information. 'The Minority also was very conscious of making sure that the bill will not, you know, be only for the people, a certain group of people, but for all persons in Nigeria, for the benefit of all. It is this balanced opinion that has taken us, and that is what the parliament is supposed to be. We debate, we disagree, it doesn't mean that we are enemies, we disagree until we get the best for the people we represent. 'So this is congratulations to you, congratulations to Nigerians and I agree with Honourable Jaha, that this bill, that copy presented here by the chairman is a copy the Presiding Officers would like to see as it progresses to Mr. President. Nothing should be added to it, nothing should be removed. We are happy with what we have adopted.'
Straits Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Nigeria's Senate passes tax reform bills to boost government revenue
ABUJA - Nigeria's Senate passed four tax reform bills on Friday aimed at boosting government revenue, nearing completion of a plan that has faced criticism and pushback from within President Bola Tinubu's ruling All Progressives Congress. After ending costly subsidies and twice devaluing the naira currency in his first year in office, Tinubu has shifted his focus to reforming the tax system to boost revenue and efficiency. Critics say the measures, which include an increase in value-added tax to 12.5% next year from 7.5%, will worsen economic hardship in Africa's most populous country of more than 200 million. Parliament's passage of the four bills, despite opposition from lawmakers and governors within Tinubu's party, is a victory for his administration's efforts to shore up government revenue and overhaul the country's fiscal framework. Nigeria has one of the world's lowest tax-to-GDP ratios, at 10.8%, forcing the government to rely on borrowing to fund the budget. Sani Musa, who chaired the Senate committee that reviewed the bills, said their passage triggered an amendment to Nigeria's oil law. The changes transfer "fiscal administration duties, such as royalty and petroleum profit tax collection, to the newly proposed Nigeria Revenue Service", he said on Friday. Musa clarified that other provisions in the oil law remain unchanged. Nigeria's lower House of Representatives passed the tax bills in March. Now, the Senate's passage requires both chambers to reconcile their versions before sending the final bills to Tinubu for his assent. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Zawya
09-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Nigeria: Senate passes two remaining tax reform bills
The Senate concluded work on the tax reform bills by passing the remaining two bills on Thursday. The two bills passed for third reading on Thursday were the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment)Board Bill, 2025; and the Nigeria Tax Bill, 2025. The Red Chamber had earlier on Wednesday passed the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2025, and the Nigeria Revenue Service Bill, 2025, bringing the total number of tax bills passed to four. President Bola Tinubu had forwarded the bills to the National Assembly in November 2024 amid controversies that were later resolved through various layers of engagements. However, the Senate and the House of Representatives will still go into a conference committee to harnonise areas of difference in the bills as passed in the respective chambers before the final drafts are sent to President Tinubu for his signature. Making his closing remarks on Thursday before the Senate adjourned plenary, the Majority Leader, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, recounted how senators worked extensively on the bills to ensure that the final versions served the interest of Nigeria and not individuals, as had been speculated in certain quarters. He said while the Senate would not beg for praise for its efforts, it must also state clearly that it was not out to be a rubber stamp to the executive. Bamidele disclosed how the Senate held 39 engagements across board to fine-tune the bills to address all the initial grey areas. He added, 'Thirty-nine different engagements were held on these bills from across various sectors. 'It was meant to give thoroughness to the bills and bring out the best to serve the nation. 'We are not here to grandstand or to portray ourselves as a rubber stamp parliament.' The Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill, 2025, which has 63 clauses, primarily establishes the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) to replace the existing Joint Tax Board. It is meant to enhance cooperation and harmonisation of tax administration between the three tiers of government, federal, state, and local governments in the country. There is also the establishment of a Tax Appeal Tribunal for resolving tax-related disputes, continuing the functions previously under the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Act. The bill creates the Office of the Tax Ombudsman to protect taxpayers' rights and ensure simplification and fairness in tax administration. It also seeks to streamline tax administration, increase intergovernmental cooperation, and introduce new mechanisms for dispute resolution to create a fairer, more consistent tax environment. In addition, the bill 'supports collaboration between federal and sub national tax authorities, including assistance by the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) to states and local governments in tax collection where legally authorised.' Copyright © 2022 Nigerian Tribune Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
