After a period of protracted public dissent, especially from particular sections of the country, the Senate is prepared to pass the tax reform bills forwarded by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly today (Tuesday).
This development was confirmed by two prominent senators who preferred anonymity, due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter.
“This should have been done last week had the Rivers State of emergency issue not come up,” one source explained. “But certainly, the four bills will be approved tomorrow.”
Efforts to reach the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, for confirmation were unsuccessful.
At the time of filing this report, Adaramodu neither answered calls nor responded to text messages seeking clarification.
The imminent Senate move comes just two weeks after the House of Representatives approved the four controversial tax reform bills.
The bills include the Nigerian Tax Bill, the Tax Administration Bill, the Revenue Tax Board Bill, and the Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill.
This followed a clause-by-clause review of all relevant amendments at the Committee of the Whole.
Some of the notable amendments include the retention of the Value Added Tax rate at the current 7.5 percent, instead of a staggered increase, and the extension of income tax exemptions to specific agricultural businesses and military officers.
Two weeks ago, the Senate conducted a two-day public hearing on the tax reform bills at the National Assembly.
The hearing witnessed the gathering of key stakeholders from the nation’s economic and financial sectors to discuss and refine important fiscal policies.
In attendance were prominent government and industry figures, including the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji; Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari; members of the Federal Executive Council; heads of relevant agencies; and the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, among others.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed the same bills. With the concurrence of the Senate, the bills will next be transmitted to Tinubu for signing into law.
