Shehu Sani: Tax Reform Bill Not Inimical to North

*Huriwa: Bill should be decided on merit, benefit not on regional basis

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Former senator, Shehu Sani, has said that the new tax reform bill currently before the National Assembly is not inimical to the northern states, while calling on the National Assembly to treat the bill with all seriousness that it deserves.

In the same vein, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (Huriwa) has appealed to the National Assembly to decide the fate of the tax reform bill on merit, benefits and never on regional basis.
Senator Shehu Sani in a statement he posted on his X space said: “The Tax reform Bill is not inimical to the North or any part of this country.

”It’s in fact economically beneficial and fair to all parts. People should keep aside sentiments and read the Bill carefully. It is a comprehensive and bold move to harmonise and simplify tax administration and streamline its operations and enforcement.

”The Bill will actually generate and safeguard more revenue to the states. It will also combat the corruption in the so-called tax waivers granted to business cabals.
”There is nowhere in the document where any region will be shortchanged or taxes will be increased or jobs will be lost. Northern governors should rescind their decision to reject the Bill, take time to read it and make inputs where necessary.

”The National Assembly must treat this important Bill with all seriousness.”, he stressed
Meanwhile, a civil right group, Huriwa has said that despite the division at the National Assembly about the bill, the Northern governors and Senators are called upon to focus their attention on economically liberating, empowering the masses of the people of the north to become producers and consumers of goods and services so there would be no need crying over sharing formula of revenues from taxation especially from the value-added taxation.

Huriwa appealed to Nigerian Senators and House of Representatives members to engage in merit-based debates around the new tax reform bills of the current administration so as to ascertain the long-term impacts, merits or demerits or otherwise and not to continue to ignite ethnic and regional tensions over economic matter of reforming the tax system that is scientific, evidence-based, empirical and therefore logical.
“Those who oppose the bills should list out their reasons backed up by scientific body of evidence and with statistics and not on ethnic or regional sentiments,” the rights body added.
HURIWA recalled that the President had, on September 3, transmitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration just as the envisaged government’s tax reforms stemmed from the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal and Tax Reforms headed by Taiwo Oyedele, for the review of existing tax laws.

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.
Others are the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, which will repeal the Federal Inland Revenue Service Act and establish the Nigeria Revenue Service, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, which will create a tax tribunal and a tax ombudsman.

HURIWA recalled that the major burning issue around the debate is the proposed paradigm shift to a derivation-based model for Value Added Tax distribution, which would allocate tax revenue to the states where goods and services are consumed, rather than where companies have their headquarters.

HURIWA however recalled that without adducing superior scientific facts and figures, the bills were rejected outrightly by the 19 northern governors and traditional rulers based on unscientific reasons.