Northern Elders Demand Suspension of Tax Reform Bills
John Shiklam in Abuja
The Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) yesterday demanded immediate suspension of the proposed Tax Reform Bills.
The convener of NEF, Professor Ango Abdullahi, had in a communique issued after the forum Board of Trustees’ second bi-annual meeting, in Abuja on Saturday, November 23, 2024 rejected the tax bills and warned against policies that could further marginalise the north’s resource potential.
In a fresh statement issued yesterday by the Chairman of the Management Board of NEF, Air Marshal Al-Amin Musa Daggash (rtd.), the forum expressed dismay at the way and manner the tax reforms were prepared.
NEF described the bills as “terribly shocking,” and accused the Tinubu-led administration of “its citizens the vigorous ventilation of democratic opinions and freedom of expression.”
According to the statement, the proposed Tax Reform Bills by the federal government, were clearly in breach with regards to adhering to “common characteristics of reforms and public policy-making process, all over the world and in conformity with the global best practice.”
However, the group made it clear that Nigerians in general and Northerners in particular “are not really against the introduction of any form of good and meaningful reforms by those in positions of authority at the federal, state, or local government levels.”
NEF argued that the federal government would have engaged with Nigerians, critical stakeholders, and experts in extensive pre-reform meetings in order to secure their buy-in.
“The leadership of Northern Elders’ Forum, holds the firm view that the government’s interests will best be served and promoted by actively engaging in comprehensive dialogue with varied and critical stakeholders, in order to foster very admirable legislative outcomes that will respect the rights of all citizens and promote their individual and collective wellbeing, while at the same time ensuring the attainment of a balanced approach to taxation that prioritises national unity, progress, and economic development.
“In the light of these unassailable considerations, the leadership of the Northern Elders’ Forum hereby strongly recommends the following: That, the federal government should immediately suspend the rush to implement the proposed Tax Reform Bills, so as to more wisely use the medium of dialogue to allay all concerns, collect all quality contributions and critical inputs from cross sections of Nigerian stakeholders, and then finally proceed to accommodate and redesign the sequencing of the implementation strategy.
“That, as a consumption tax that drastically reduces the purchasing power of citizens, fuels inflation and hikes in interest rates, no increase in VAT should be imposed, pending the emergence into the national horizon of clear evidence of the promised economic recovery by the government.
“That the proposed formula contained in the NTAB is not fair to the states where VAT revenue is generated, as the consuming states are denied credit for what has been generated from them. Since VAT is a General Consumption Tax (GCT), the rule of attribution based on the location of consumption should be uniformly applied.
“That, since Section 162(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) grants the RMAFC the sole authority to determine the formula for equitable revenue sharing among the three tiers of government, no attempt should be made by the ruling authority to whimsically change this provision, as doing so is capable of undermining the law of the land and disrespecting democratic principles.
“The plan to move the exceedingly performing developmental and technological institutions, with a secured means of sustainability, such as TETFund, NITDA, and NASENI, to the uncertain and hazardous future of budgetary allocation should be halted. We strongly recommend that the status quo should be maintained by the government so as to strengthen and protect these strategic national institutions.
“That, given our diversity and the importance the government attaches to promoting financial inclusion, the use of contentious terms like “ecclesiastical” in the original proposed Tax Reform Bills, should be seamlessly replaced with “religious.”
“That religious, charitable organisations and family inheritance wealth should be exempted from paying all forms of taxes, as this is prone to conflicts over citizens’ strict adherence to some religious obligatory laws.
“That, conspicuously missing and consciously evaded by the framers of the Tax Reform Bills, is the issue of agricultural goods (produce) and livestock, a big ecosystem, which constitutes the strength of Northern Nigeria’s economy, yet, for certain inexplicable reasons, they have all been declared VAT-exempt/non-VATable. Obviously, the repercussion of this exclusion on the Northern part of Nigeria is glaringly disproportionate.”
