The Nigerian Senate is preparing to pass President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform bills today (Tuesday). This move follows the House of Representatives’ approval of the four bills two weeks ago, paving the way for their final legislative clearance.
Two senators, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the planned approval. One of them stated, “This should have been done last week had the Rivers State of emergency issue not come up. But certainly, the four bills will be approved tomorrow.”
Efforts to get an official statement from the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, were unsuccessful. Calls and text messages sent to him for clarification remained unanswered at the time of this report.
The four bills under consideration are the Nigerian Tax Bill, the Tax Administration Bill, the Revenue Tax Board Bill, and the Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill. These proposed laws are expected to bring significant changes to Nigeria’s tax structure and revenue collection process.
Two weeks ago, the Senate conducted a two-day public hearing at the National Assembly to gather input from key stakeholders in the financial and economic sectors. Those present included 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.
During the review process, lawmakers examined each clause of the bills, leading to some notable amendments. These include maintaining the current Value Added Tax (VAT) rate at 7.5 percent instead of implementing a staggered increase. Additionally, the bills extend income tax exemptions to certain agricultural businesses and military personnel.
