After due considerations of the intricacies involved in the tax reform bills proposed by the Bola Tinubu’s administrations, the House of Representatives THURSDAY has approved the bills, which includes the Revenue Tax Board Bill, the Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill, the Nigerian Tax Bill and the Tax Administration Bill.
The National Assembly has completed a thorough, clause-by-clause review of all necessary amendments to the bills during the Committee of the Whole session. Key amendments include keeping the Value Added Tax rate at its current level of 7.5 percent, rather than implementing a gradual increase, as well as extending income tax exemptions to certain agricultural businesses and military personnel.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, James Faleke (APC-Lagos) speaking about the bill had been adopted said that all the concerns of Nigerians were addressed in the documents that contained the four adopted bills. Assuring Nigerians that the bills will yield significant desired results.
“These bills underwent three full days of public hearings, with input from over 80 key stakeholders. Afterwards, we held an eight-day retreat to debate each clause.
“I am glad that House members recognised our thorough work and approved all our recommendations,” Faleke said.
He expressed his gratitude to his fellow lawmakers and to the Nigerian public who contributed to the discussions on the bills, assuring everyone that the results will be fair and acceptable to all.
He also thanked the leadership of the house for counting worthy to chair the committee and extended his commendation to President Bola Tinubu for prioritising tax law reforms, noting that some existing tax laws date as far back as 1959.
“We cannot continue using outdated tax laws that no longer meet our business, survival, and revenue needs,” he stressed, He said.
Now that the reports of bills have been adopted, the house will gear to its eventual passage which will likely take place from next week.
