Apart from the sudden removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu, there is hardly any other policy by the present administration that has generated intense public interest, debate, as well as opposition like the current Tax Reform Bills before the National Assembly (NASS).
The bills are Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024; and Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024, which the government said are designed to promote small businesses, investments and enhance equitable and competitive redistribution of tax.
Obviously, led by the Northern Governors Forum (NGF), some federal law makers, and groups, Northern part of the country led the fiercest opposition to the proposed reform, especially it’s Value Added Tax (VAT) component, contending that the proposed tax reform is skewed in favour of Lagos.
Some expressed fear that if the tax reform sails through and it becomes a law, it would become very difficult for them to pay workers salaries and run their respective government effectively. There were also contententions that it could kill some important agencies such as TETFUND, NASENI, among others.
We readily admit that there is nothing wrong with any sound argument on public policy as long as its intention is in public interest. In fact, in a democracy, healthy debate from various quarters or citizens on public policies is part of building a robust system for socioeconomic development. But this is not the case at all.
The Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, led by Taiwo Oyedele, despite itemising the benefits of tax reform bills, was harshly criticized and the content of it’s indepth document jettisoned.
Oyedele enumerated the benefits to include that low-income earners (N83,000 monthly) will be exempted from paying Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax; reduction of PAYE for those earning less than N1.7 million per annum; VAT exemption on transportation, renewable energy, CNG, baby products, sanitary towels, rent, and fuel products. Others are tax incentives for employers to hire more people incrementally than in the previous 3 years; exemption of stamp duties on rent below N10m; PAYE tax exemption for other ranks and armed forces fighting insecurity among others.
But the pattern of the opposition against the tax reform by NGF and other Northern leaders further exposes the region and it’s intellectuals to the self affirmation of the alleged regional stereotypes of illiteracy. In order words, there is another kind of illiteracy among the educated elites whose education has failed the test of addressing the region’s litany of problems.
It is acutely concerning that Northern governors, senators and groups opposed to the tax reform bills felt proud to admit that it was not important to read the documents. This is the problem, the age long leadership failure, fallacies and mediocrity that has held this country down for years. By so doing, they wittingly and unwilling openly accepted shamelessly the lazy and pesticidal tags on the region. This is so unfortunate and sad.
We are not only in support of the tax reform bills, we are urging the president to expand the reforms into a comprehensive economic restructuring for the country. Full scale fiscal and economic restructuring is the best option for the country at the moment if we want to survive the looming cataclysmic future.
However, the process must be driven with transparency, inclusiveness and in the best interest of every part of the country. The North needs to wake up from it’s slumber. The world is ever moving forward and will leave behind anyone that fails to come on board.
