JUST IN: Senate passes two tax reform bills, rejects 7.5% VAT increase

The two bills passed are the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.

These bills were passed on Wednesday after the senate reviewed the report of an ad hoc committee chaired by Niger East Senator Sani Musa.

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Two bills which the senate has scheduled for consideration and passage on Thursday are the Nigeria Tax Administration bill and the Nigeria Tax bill.

The passage of two bills on Wednesday followed a clause-by-clause consideration of the bills in the committee of the whole and a third reading on the floor of the senate.

President Tinubu transmitted the bills to the senate as part of efforts to modernise and overhaul the country’s tax framework.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio commended the progress and said the reforms would strengthen governance and improve revenue collection.

“These bills will add immense value to governance and transform how taxes are collected and shared in Nigeria,” Akpabio said.

He also said the senate is ready to extend its sitting to conclude work on the remaining bills.

“We are committed to concluding the outstanding bills tomorrow, even if we have to stay here until 10 pm,” he added.

Apart from the rejection of a proposal to increase VAT from 7.5 to 10 percent, the Akpabio who read the resolutions, said the senate also rejected the proposed phasing out of funding for some agencies.

The agencies include the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).

Instead, Akpabio said the red chamber introduced a 4 percent development levy to sustain funding for the agencies.

“These agencies of government are essential for human capital and overall economic development of the country,” he said.

“Phasing out their funding can lead to stagnation in education and the country losing out on technological evolutions and advancements.”

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According to the bill, the development levy will be distributed as follows: TETFUND (50%), Nigerian Education Loan Fund (15%), NITDA (10%), NASENI (10%), National Cybersecurity Fund (5%) and Defence Security Fund (10%).