A group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has chided Northern governors, senators and leaders for opposing the Tax Reform Bills before the national assembly in ethnic sentiment.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had, on September 3, transmitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration based on 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.
In essence, the 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.
Notherns leaders have therefore kicked against the bills. The governors, under the aegis of the Northern Governors’ Forum, rejected the bills, insisting that the contents of the bills did not align with the interests of the North and other subnational entities.
Similarly, the National Economic Council, headed by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, recommended the bills’ withdrawal to allow for wider consultations and consensus building.
While the bills have not been presented for a second reading where the principles of the bills will be debated, some lawmakers have expressed divergent views.
Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) opposed the bills and vowed to mobilise other lawmakers from the north against them.
Senator Ogoshi Onawo of Nasarawa South Senatorial District also kicked against the bills, saying it was unfair for the government to continue imposing taxes on Nigerians who were battling economic hardship.
President Tinubu has however insisted that the National Assembly should be allowed to treat the bills.
HURIWA in a statement on Sunday signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, urged Northern governors and Senators to focus their attention on how to economically literate and empower the masses of the north to become producers and consumers of goods and services instead of crying over revenue sharing formula from taxation especially from the value added taxation.
The group also appealed to senators and House of Representatives members to engage in merit-based debates on the tax reform bills 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 it argued is scientific, evidence-based, empirical and therefore logical.
“Those who oppose the bills should list out their reasons backed up by a scientific body of evidence and with statistics and not on ethnic or regional sentiments,” HURIWA said.
HURIWA said the conversations around the proposed tax reform bills should not be reduced into convoluted political theatrics.
The group condemned what it described as the “ of the debate on the bills especially by Northern political elites who centre their opposition around mundane political and unscientific issues rather than confront the issue with facts, figures and science.
“As for us in the organised human rights community, we sincerely hope that the debates should be healthy, robustly focused on evidence, benefits, merits and demerits.
“And whereby any aspect of the proposed tax reform bills would undermine the existence of the absolutely impoverished Nigerians, then those aspects can be tinkered with so the people are not taxed to their untimely deaths.
“But opposing the tax reform bills based on regional interest and not on national interest, is absolutely uncalled for.
“We must emphasise things that unite us rather than going back to our mundane political cleavage in pursuit of ethnic aggrandisement,” HURIWA said.
Group Chides Northern Governors, Senators For Opposing Tax Reform Bills On Ethnic Sentiment is first published on The Whistler Newspaper