President Bola Tinubu has said there is no going back on the tax reforms bills.
Tinubu, who stated this during a media chat in Lagos on Monday, said the tax reforms were necessitated by the need to eliminate colonial-based assumptions in the nation’s tax environment.
The Presidential Media Chat, Tinubu’s first, was aired on the Nigerian Television Authority Monday night.
The tax reforms have sparked controversy across the country, forcing the House of Representatives to suspend indefinitely the debate on the bills earlier fixed for December 3 following mounting pressure from the 19 northern states governors.
The planned debate was called off after 73 northern lawmakers kicked against the bills.
However, while the reforms have garnered support in the South as steps toward equitable resource distribution, stakeholders says resistance from the North reflects fears of marginalisation and economic disadvantage.
Here to Stay
For the umpteenth time, President Bola Tinubu has said that the tax reforms embarked on by his administration was here to stay.
The tax reform bills are: Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, Nigeria Tax Administration Bill 2024, Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill 2024, and Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill 2024.
However, the President during his maiden media chat held Monday in Lagos said he was of the opinion that the reforms might not be embraced by everybody, but maintained that there was no going back on it.
“The tax reform is here to stay. The reform is pro-poor and it is to widen the tax net, so we can have more people paying. The hallmark of a good leader is the ability to do what you have to do at the time it ought to be done. Tax matters are subjects of debates and negotiations. I don’t mind cutting edges. I will.”
