Senate passes two tax reform bills, rejects VAT increase
The Senate has approved two of President Bola Tinubu's four tax reform legislation.The bills that were passed are the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
These legislation were approved on Wednesday after the Senate considered the findings of an ad hoc committee chaired by Niger East Senator Sani Musa.
The group was formed to discuss concerns and disagreements about the planned revisions.
During Wednesday's plenary, each measure clause was debated and considered by the Committee of the Whole.
Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, declared the legislation' passage after they were backed by a majority of senators via voice vote.
He also praised the efforts, expressing confidence that the reform proposals will improve government while also revolutionizing revenue collection and distribution across the country.
"These bills will add immense value to governance and transform how taxes are collected and shared in Nigeria," he told journalists.
He further stated that the other two bills would be completed tomorrow (Thursday), even if it took longer sitting hours.
"We are committed to concluding the outstanding bills tomorrow, even if we have to stay here until 10 p.m.," says Akpabio.
The upper house also rejected a proposal to raise the value-added tax to 10%, instead voting to keep the current rate of 7.5%.
The Nigeria tax administration bill and the Nigeria tax bill are two legislation that the Senate plans to review and enact on Thursday.
The four tax reform bills were submitted to the National Assembly in October 2024.
The four bills have already passed in the House of Representatives.
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