The Presidency has intensified lobbying the National Assembly to pass the tax reform bills, report has revealed.
It was gathered that the leadership of the House of Representatives has invited caucus leaders of the House for a crucial meeting aimed at convincing lawmakers to back the bills.
According to a report,
sources indicated that the Presidency is eager for the reform legislations to be passed before the year ends so that they can take effect by January 1, 2025, alongside the 2025 Budget.
The renewed push for the bills is said to be sequel to the increasing pressure from northern governors, who are urging lawmakers from the region to resist the reforms.
The Northern States Governors’ Forum and the traditional rulers from the region had rejected the proposed amendments, particularly the proposed shift in value added tax (VAT) distribution to a derivation-based model, which they argued, would disproportionately harm the northern region and other sub-national entities.
After then, the National Economic Council (NEC) led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, had suggested that the tax reform bills should be subjected to additional scrutiny, but President Bola Tinubu said it should be allowed to pass through legislative processes.
The report quoted a lawmaker to have confirmed that intensive lobbying was ongoing by the presidency.
“They are reaching out to get the by-in of lawmakers. They want us to support the bills to scale through,” the lawmaker, who does not want to be named, said.
He, however, said lobbying is not wrong, as it is being done in advanced democracies like the United States.
“Lobby is part of democratic process to get things done, but you should understand that pushback by those who feel the issue in contention will not favour them is also legitimate,” he said.
According to the report, the pushback by relevant stakeholders from the North came after President Tinubu transmitted the four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration on October 3.
The bills are the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, which is expected to provide the fiscal framework for taxation in the country, and the Tax Administration Bill, which will provide a clear and concise legal framework for all taxes in the country and reduce disputes.
The others are the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, which will repeal the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Act and establish the Nigeria Revenue Service, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, which will create a tax tribunal and a tax ombudsman.
The push by northern governors on their lawmakers to oppose the bills was confirmed last week by the deputy spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese (APC, Benue), who revealed that some governors had threatened lawmakers with the potential loss of re-election tickets in 2027 if they chose to support the bills.
