The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Mr. James Faleke, has assured Nigerians that the tax reform bills currently under consideration will result in fair and widely acceptable laws aimed at improving the country’s tax system.
Faleke gave this assurance during an interview with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, following the House’s consideration and adoption of the report on the four tax reform bills.
Today’s Plenary Session
The House of Representatives today considered and passed four (4) Tax Reform Bills presented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. pic.twitter.com/i2q6yIB2ku
— Rt. Hon. James Abiodun Faleke (@honfaleke) March 13, 2025
The proposed legislation includes the Nigerian Tax Bill, the Tax Administration Bill, the Revenue Tax Board Bill, and the Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill. These reforms are expected to enhance tax administration, boost revenue generation, and create a more efficient and transparent tax framework for the country.
“These bills took three full days of public hearing; we took memoranda from more than 80 critical stakeholders and after the three days, we resorted to a retreat for eight days, debating all the clauses for each of the bills. I am glad that members of the house saw that we had done a thorough job and they have approved all our recommendations.
“We want to appreciate our members and all Nigerians who showed interest in these bills and we assure that the laws that will come after these bills are acceptable by all Nigerians,” he said.
He appreciated the leadership of the house for entrusting the committee with the responsibility of processing the tax bills and to lay them before the house.
He also commended President Bola Tinubu for considering it worthy to amend tax laws, saying that some of our tax laws are as old as 1959.
According to the lawmaker, we cannot continue to operate with those tax laws that are archaic to meet our demands for survival, business and the revenue target that we seek to achieve.
The Deputy Chairman of the committee, Mr. Saidu Abdullahi, said that no bill in the 10th Assembly had generated such controversies as the tax reform bills.
He said that the house, under the leadership of Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, was able to build consensus among all the stakeholders.
Mr. Abdullahi said that interest groups from each geopolitical zone and regional thought leaders were drafted into the committee, which allayed the fears of the people.
He said that the recommendations of the committee were an offshoot of all the inputs of the various stakeholders.
“There were never seen as a perfect document; there were proposals from the Executive, and the public hearing provided Nigerians the platform to make the better and from what we have seen today, the whole country represented by the lawmakers has assented to it,’’ he said.
Also speaking, Rep. Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere (PDP-Imo) said that the process was transparent as the consultants and the executive all made adjustments to reflect the will of the people.
“Èven though we are from the opposition, we are so proud of this historic moment that is going to bring more people to the tax net and create more revenue for the effective running of the government.
“There is going to be efficiency in the tax collecting system and even small businesses are well protected; for me, this is very historic and that is why all of us worked with the government and our colleague to ensure it sailed through today,” he said.
On his part, Rep. Benson Babajimi (APC-Lagos State) said that the issues raised by all the relevant stakeholders ranging from inheritance tax, derivation, VAT etc were considered by the house.
“It is a good day for Nigeria; the injection that Nigeria needs to move into the comity of nations has been applied and the House of Reps have sanctioned it so we wait on the Senate to do the same,’’ he said.
The four tax bills are the Nigerian Tax Bill; Nigeria Tax Administration Bill; Joint Revenue Board Bill; and Nigeria Revenue Service Bill.
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