Reps hold closed-door session over Tinubu’s tax reform bills

In the House, where the bills are still at the first reading stage, there has been little opposition to their passage into law.

The House of Representatives on Thursday held a closed-door session lasting over an hour and forty-five minutes to discuss the four tax bills President Bola Tinubu transmitted to the National Assembly for consideration.

The executive session started at around 11:15 a.m. and ended at about 1:40 p.m., causing Thursday’s plenary session to commence much later than scheduled.

After the plenary resumed, the Deputy Speaker, Ben Kalu, announced that the session had focused on the tax bills.

President Tinubu transmitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration in October. The bills include the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.

The tax reform bills have sparked reactions within and outside the National Assembly. Opposition has come from the governors, who, through the National Economic Council (NEC), urged President Tinubu to withdraw the executive bills pending further consultation.

The Northern Governors’ Forum instructed their lawmakers to reject the bills, arguing that they were against the “interests of the North,” particularly the Value Added Tax (VAT) component.

Strong opposition has also emerged in the Senate, particularly from Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South). However, despite the resistance, the bills have passed their second reading in the Senate.

There has been comparatively little opposition to the bills in the House. Some weeks ago, the House held an interactive session on the bills with the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, and other members of the executive.

As of Thursday afternoon, the bills were still in the House’s first reading stage but had passed a second reading in the Senate.