Tax Reform: Ndume Adamant, Insists FG Should Withdraw Bills for Further Consultations
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
Former Senate Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume, yesterday insisted that the federal government must withdraw the tax reform bills from the National Assembly, arguing that they were coming at the wrong time.
He said in a statement in Abuja that the economic hardship being suffered by Nigerians may get worse if the federal lawmakers consider and pass the fiscal bills.
He said: “I’m still insisting that the tax reforms bills be withdrawn for more consultations and by-in of critical stakeholders like state, local government and private sectors.”
He advised that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) should expand its tax net just as he called for greater demonstration of accountability.
“The FIRS should concentrate on expanding the tax net and collecting more. Also, accountability and transparency should be increased,” he stated.
Ndume also called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to beam its searchlight on commercial banks to ensure that banks which declare huge profits every year should pay more taxes, urging the President Bola Tinubu administration to focus on governance reforms before tax reforms.
The bills include a proposal to establish the Joint Revenue Board, the Tax Appeal Tribunal, and the Office of the Tax Ombudsman, all part of Tinubu’s comprehensive tax reform package.
Ndume, who represents Borno South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, noted that all states, zones and regions in the country need each other to survive, no matter how rich.
He said: “The North was, is and will never be a parasite or dependent on any region or even the country. We are assets not liabilities to Nigeria. Those who think that the current tax reforms are only against Northern interests are naive. As it is, the law is against all the low and middle income Nigerians.”
The lawmaker called for a demonstration of prudence in governance so that the resources of the country can be properly harnessed to the benefits of the people.
He expressed his opposition to the bills because of the wrong timing, the question of derivation, Value Added Tax (VAT) and the lack of consensus or buy-in from Nigerians.
Ndume said: “First in Nigeria, what we need to do is reform the government. Our personnel and overhead expenditure for 2024 is about 50 to 60 per cent of the budget itself. We are here in November, and 20 per cent of the budget has not been implemented. But if you check the recurrent expenditure, it has already been exhausted.
“So, that means over N15 to N20 trillion is going into personnel, debt servicing, and recurrent expenditure. We should reform the government, not only the executive – we need to reform the government holistically,” he added.
