Members of the House of Representatives yesterday considered and approved the Report submitted by the House Committee on Finance on the Tax Reform Bills.
Their approval set the stage for the Bills’ third reading and likely passage on Tuesday.
The Finance Committee of the Senate which, like the House Committee, proceeded on a retreat after the public hearing, is yet to table its recommendations.
It was learnt that the Bills might be presented before senators and passed next week.
The bills were presented on October 8, 2024 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the National Assembly for legislative action.
The bills are: Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill; the Nigeria Tax Bill; the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill.
Presenting the report for consideration by members, Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, James Abiodun Faleke, said all contentious areas of the bills were considered by the committee during the six-day retreat and resolved.
The committee recommends the appointment of six Executive Directors for the Nigeria Revenue Service to be appointed by the President and one representative from the 36 states to ensure equitable representation.
He expressed concern that the definition of ‘tax’ as contained in the Bill may encroach on the revenue collection function of other agencies such as the Nigeria Customs Service.
On the distribution of Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue which has been one of the contentious issues, the House considered and approved that a new basis for the distribution of the 55 per cent and 35 per cent respectively for State and Local Government allocation has been introduced.
Faleke said that 50 per cent of VAT revenue will be distributed equally, 20 per cent to be distributed based on population and 30 per cent to be based on consumption, adding that emphasis has also been placed on the actual place of consumption, irrespective of where the VAT returns are filed.
The Finance committee chair explained that emphasis should be on the place of consumption in the collection and distribution of VAT resources, irrespective of where the tax was filed or where the headquarters of the company filing the return is domiciled.
