President Bola Tinubu has been urged by the National Economic Council (NEC) to revoke the controversial tax bill that the Presidency sent to the National Assembly for approval.
The derivation-based model for Value Added Tax (VAT) distribution in the new tax bill was rejected by several parties, especially the Northern Governors Forum, who claimed it was against the interests of the North.
The NEC, which is the president’s highest advisory body and is chaired by the vice president, recommended that the Bill be withdrawn in order to facilitate more extensive and thorough stakeholder engagements during its meeting at the Presidential Villa on Thursday.
Following the NEC meeting, which was attended by State Governors, the Minister of Justice, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and others, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde briefed State House correspondents, stating that the bill had been plagued by a lot of misconceptions and false information, which would be cleared up later.
Gov. Makinde also noted that the NEC came to the conclusion that the nation was not doing enough to collect taxes and revenue from all sources as necessary after hearing a presentation from the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.
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He stated: “The Council recognized that the nation is underperforming on all indicators, including the tax to GDP ratio and the size of the main revenue sources.
Following a thorough discussion, NEC concluded that the suggested reforms require adequate agreement between and among the stakeholders.
“There is a lot of miscommunication and misinformation, so the Council recommends that the tax reform bill currently before the National Assembly be withdrawn so that we can have broader consultations and also build consensus around these reforms for the benefit of the entire country in addition to giving people a chance to understand the vision and where we are moving the country in terms of tax reform.
Thus, the National Survey will be incorporated into the bill. Following that, there will be consultations.
