Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says most state governors have been enlightened on the benefits of the Tax Reform Bills proposed by President Bola Tinubu.
According to him, the Governors now understand the benefits of the bills.
He also submitted that the bills will bring about increased revenue across the federal, states and local governments.
Naijaonpoint reports Governor Sanwo-Olu gave the update during a recent interview with TVC when he was asked to shed more light on the position of the governors regarding the Tax Reform Bills.
He explained that it may not be correct to say they were not in support of the bill initially, adding that it took some explanations to understand the bills.
In his words, “The first issue was that a lot of my colleagues, rightly so, were not fully aware of the extent of what reform is in the tax bills. But in the last couple of months, everybody has schooled themselves and taken time to understand, digest, and get expert advice on it.
“I want to say to you clearly that most of the governors are now convinced. People have been educated, and we see that it is an opportunity for us to have a lot more revenue, be able to track and trap where defaulters are, and be able to bring everybody on board.
“So, you will see increased revenue across the entire three tiers of government – federal, subnational, and local governments. That is the kind of thing we have seen. And there will be a fairer distribution of it, where equity will also come to bear. We will also be aware of even areas where they are not as economically viable. And I think these are some of the things that the bill is about.
“I have taken time to listen, read, be schooled, and be educated, and I think that is what has happened to a lot of us. So, I will not say that the governors are not in support of it. Initially, it was heat on everyone. It was a lot for people to digest at once. But a lot of people have taken time to understand it and I believe that a significant number of us are completely bought into it. We believe that these reforms are important.”
It’s A Win-win Situation
Sanwo-Olu submitted that Lagos may get some reduction at the beginning when the Tax Reform Bills come into play, but at the end of the day, it would be a win-win for all Nigerians.
According to him, the Governors are focused on making life better for the people.
“We believe that at the end of the day, it will be a win-win for everybody. It was first asserted that Lagos State was going to get everything, which is not true. In fact, at the beginning of it, Lagos even gets a head cut.
But over time, once you are able to track and trap and have a better enhancement in terms of how the penetration is, everybody, by extension, gets something better. What we should all now be striving for is how well do we now transform that into improving the life of our people,” he concluded.