The controversy generated by the Tax Reform Bills deepened on Thursday as Northern senators were divided over the propriety or otherwise of the bills.The Whistler can report
The discussions on the bills were kick-started with debate on the general principles of the bills during plenary.
When the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele tabled the matter open, Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) attempted to shoot it down by saying arguing against the timing.
Ndume said he was not totally against the bill but that the Senate ought to have allowed for broader consultations with stakeholders before the Senate would entertain further action on it.
But he was countered by his fellow senator from Borno State, Mohammed Monguno (Borno North) who argued in favour of the bill.
Recall that Ndume had, on Wednesday, attempted to prevent members of the presidential tax reform team from addressing the Senate-in-session ground of technicalities.
The controversial senator had woven his objections around sections of the Senate’s standing rules, which he argued, did not allow members of the tax reform team access to the Senate chamber.
But he was tacked by the Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau (Kano North) who presided over Wednesday’s plenary.
Barau fired a salvo at Ndume, asking him to quit “his rhetorics” and allow the tax reform team to address the senators.
Miffed by what he considered as Barau’s attempts to silence him, Ndume took umbrage, demanding an apology from the Deputy President of the Senate. But Barau ruled him out of order.
Earlier that Wednesday, the senator representin Bauchi Central, Abdul Ningi, had also argued against inviting President Tinubu’s tax reform team to address the senators but he was similarly overruled.
When called upon to make his contribution to the debate on Thursday, Ndume called for the withdrawal of the bill to allow for broader consultations, as canvassed by the 36 state governors and other stakeholders.
While stating his take on the bills, he expressed fears over the aspect of derivation regarding VAT revenue, fearing that the burden might eventually be passed on to low income earners.
“If you remove VAT from low income earners and pass it on to the wealthy, the wealthy certainly will pass the increase on to low income earners in terms of higher prices. It’s like giving something with your right hand and taking it back with your left,” Ndume said.
Restating that he had no problems with the bills, the controversial senator however faulted the timing, saying that, “many of us will not agree to it, so why not negotiate first before bringing the bills.”
But Monguno described Ndume’s intervention as an academic exercise not worthy of any legislative consideration.
Monguno urged Ndume and others with contrary opinions on the reform bills to wait till the public hearing stage to articulate their positions.
He got the support of majority of the senators at plenary and the motion was carried through a unanimous voice vote.
While ruling on the motion, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio said the bill would address cases of multiple taxation at the three tiers of government.
The matter was subsequently referred to the committee on Finance for further consideration with a mandate to report back in six weeks.
However, senators from the 19 northern states, met shortly after the plenary session. The agenda of their meeting was not made public.
After the meeting, the senators, who met under the aegis of the Northern Senators’ Forum, declined to speak with journalists as to their discussions during the meeting.
The chairman of the Forum, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’ Adua, also did not entertain questions.
However, sources close to the Forum disclosed on Thursday evening that the meeting was convened to discuss the tax reform bill, with a view to taking a common position on the matter.
One of the sources however, said the lawmakers could not agree on the matter during the meeting.
It was also gathered that the Northern senators, with the backing of the governors of the 19 northern states, might move to defeat the bill at the most critical stage.
The northern senators are 57 in number, against 51 from the 17 states of the South, with one senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The bills, which seek to overhaul the nation’s tax system, were sent to the National Assembly by President on October 30, 2024.
While addressing the Senate on Wednesday, the chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, said most of the tax laws currently being operated in the country were enacted in 1939.
Oyedele emphasised that the laws were obsolete and that it’s better to replace them with new and modern tax laws than to amend them, declaring, “Nigeria’s tax system is one of the most backward in the world
