• They‘ll ensure sustainable economic growth –Oyedele

 

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The Senate was thrown into a rowdy session, momentarily, yesterday, over the admission of some officials into the chamber during plenary.

Trouble started when the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, towards the end the plenary, informed the Senate that the chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zach Adedeji, and other officials of the Federal Government would be coming to brief lawmakers on the tax reform bills before the Senate.

Other members of the Federal Government team were the Director General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, and the Chairman, Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele.

Bamidele, relying on Order 12 (1) of the Senate Rules, called for the suspension of the rules so that the Federal Government team could be admitted into the chambers to address members.

However, the Senator representing Bauchi Central, Abdul Ningi, raised a point of order. Ningi, who cited Order 12 of the Senate Rules, argued that it was an error in the decision to admit the officials into the chamber, stating that they were among those captured in the rules.

However, the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, who presided over the plenary, while noting Ningi’s point of order, said the essence of the visit was for the officials to educate Nigerians on the controversiaal tax bill through the parliament.

President Bola Tinubu recently transmitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly.

The four bills are: the Nigerian Tax Bill, Tax Administration Bill, Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill and Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.

Oyedele said that highlighted the key proposals of the tax reform bills to include: elimination of minimum tax for loss-making companies and introduction of a 15 per cent effective tax rate on profits for large companies.

Others are: removal of VAT on essential goods and services., increase in tax thresholds for personal income tax to exempt low income earners and simplification of the tax system by reducing the number of taxes and levies.

The bill has been a subject of controversy within and outside the parliament.

However, the Senate leader’s motion was seconded by the Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, and the Sergeant-at-arms was directed to usher the visitors into the chamber.

As they were about to take their seats, the former Senate Chief Whip, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, objected to their admittance.

Ndume stated that the Tax Reform Bills  were  not listed on the Order Paper, contending that the senate rules prohibit discussions on matters not listed without proper procedural adjustments.

According to him: “This is a very important matter. We should not in any way try to use the position of the Senate because the Order Paper is clear. I have no problem having them to come to explain whatsoever but we must follow known procedures.

“That is if today that has to be taken, then there must be a supplementary Order Paper that will reflect this.

“It is not a matter that you will just come and tell us after we have done the business of the day. Mr President, you can have your way, but I will have my say. You can use your gavel but I will use my voice.

“When you say it is a matter of urgent national importance, yes, but even those matters are normally referred to another legislative day if they are so inconvenient.

“Please, I beg you in the name of God, this matter is very important to not only us, but also Nigerians that we represent and we swear by Bible and Holy Quran that we will represent the interest of the people. Nigerians have spoken, including the Governors and the National Economic Council.”

Barau insisted that the Senate acted within the rules, and dismissed the argument as unnecessary rhetoric.

The Deputy Senate President, while ruling Ndume out of order, noted that the “Chamber has no time for rhetoric. You have made your point, now we are not here for rhetoric. We are here for facts.”

However, his comments provoked an uproar and stalled proceedings for several minutes.

Meanwhile, Mr Oyedele has said the proposed tax reform bills are  designed to address immediate fiscal challenges and lay sustainable framework for economic growth and development of Nigeria.

The committee was constituted by the Federal Government to evolve measures of addressing the country’s economic challenges, including high poverty rates, low government revenue and rising public debts.

Oyedele said the current economic situation in Nigeria had necessitated immediate and comprehensive tax reforms to address poverty, improve revenue collection and create a favorable business environment.

He said the proposed reforms aimed to alleviate the tax burden on the poorest citizens, while ensuring that wealthier individuals and corporations contribute fairly to government revenue.

Oyedele said that the reforms would simplify the tax structure and reduce the number of taxes, make compliance easier for businesses and individuals, while potentially increasing overall tax revenue.

According to him, building trust between government and citizens is crucial to improving tax compliance, adding that this has resulted in the proposal for the establishment of a Tax Ombudsman.

He described the current VAT sharing formula as unfair, saying it only favoured state governments.

Oyedele further stated that the proposed tax reform would engender a more equitable distribution, based on consumption within states.

He urged the senate to consider the proposed bills favorably to create a more conducive environment for investments and business operations in Nigeria.

Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service ( FIRS ), Dr Zacch Adedeji, also allayed the fears of Nigerians on possible introduction of new taxes through the proposed tax reform laws.

Adedeji thanked the leadership of the National Assembly for giving  the committee the opportunity to explain to Nigerians the importance of the bills to Nigerian economic growth.

“First of all, we thank the senate leadership for allowing us. You know it is unusual to be here at this time, but we are here today because of the critical and important nature of these bills and the transformative capacity that they all possess.

“This committee was set up more than a year ago; it has moved round the country, made consultations with the governors, commissioners, with everybody; the consultations will still continue until the bills are passed, and even after that, education will continue,” he said.

He said that the essence of the bills was to stimulate the economy, adding: “don’t forget that Mr President had said that he would not tax poverty but prosperity, fruits and not seeds, returns and not investments.

”This is the beginning of Mr President’s commitment to fulfilling these so that we can have a solid foundation that will lead to the prosperity of this country,” Adedeji said