Tinubu Urges Nigerian Senate to Pass Workable Tax Reform Law

President Bola Tinubu has called on the Senate to deliver actionable laws from the proposals, four months after submitting tax reform bills to both chambers of the National Assembly for consideration and passage.

During a public hearing organized by the Senate Committee on Finance in Abuja on Monday, February 24, the Arewa Think Tank, led by convener Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, refuted claims that the northern region opposed the proposed laws.

President Tinubu’s request for actionable laws from the bills—(i) The Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, (ii) Nigerian Tax Administration Bill 2024, (iii) Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill 2024, and (iv) Joint Revenue Board Bill 2024—was revealed by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa (Niger East), during his remarks at the hearing.

“I met President Bola Ahmed Tinubu two days ago regarding the tax reform bills, and he told me, ‘Mr.\ Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, go and do the needful. Give me a law that is workable from the tax reform bills I forwarded to the Senate and House of Representatives in October last year.’

“That request from Mr President comes at a most appropriate time for this public hearing on the tax reform bills, which are not designed to burden any section of the country or grant undue advantage to others,” he said.

Last year, several groups strongly opposed the bills, causing delays in their passage in the House of Representatives. Although the Senate successfully advanced them to a second reading on November 28, 2024, resistance continued.

However, during the public hearing opened by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, opposition to the bills faded as stakeholders unanimously expressed their support.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, was the first to speak, clarifying that the proposed laws aimed to promote prosperity rather than impose taxes on poverty.

“The tax reform bills, as repeatedly explained since their introduction last year, aim to modernise our archaic tax laws to enhance efficiency, equity, and economic growth,” he said.