The Presidency has urged the lawmakers representing Borno South Senatorial District, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume to allow Nigerians take advantage of the opportunities that the tax bills are designed to unlock.
Special Adviser to the President on Public Communication and Orientation, Sunday Dare, who gave the charge in an opinion piece, titled “Tinubu’s People-Centric Tax Reforms and Ndume’s Threat“further urged Ndume to rally support for the bold initiatives of President Bola Tinubu, and to study the Tax Reform Bills and work with his colleagues in the National Assembly for their speedy passage to enable Nigerians benefit from them.
Ali Ndume
Dare wrote that “The President’s vision and clear mandate is evident in what the Fiscal policy and tax reforms Committee delivered as recommendations to the government, and became a part of the Economic Stabilisation Bills (ESB) approved by the Federal Executive Council in September, as part of the Accelerated Stability and Advancement Plan (ASAP) of the government.
According to him, “It was in furtherance to a realisation of these objectives that President Bola Tinubu sent a letter to the two chambers of the National Assembly, requesting for the approval of four tax reform bills, which are: “The Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill”, “The Nigeria Tax Bill”, “The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill,” and “The Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill.”
Sunday Dare
He said “These Bills seek to provide a consolidated fiscal framework for taxation in Nigeria, a clear and concise legal framework for the fair, consistent and efficient administration of all the tax laws to facilitate ease of tax compliance, reduce tax disputes and optimize revenue, among others.”
The article identified at least 15 positive intentions of the Bills in contrast to Senator Ndume’s assertion in a television interview that they were dead on arrival at the National Assembly even though he admitted he was yet to read or study the documents.