The National Economic Council (NEC) has recommended the withdrawal of the current Tax Reform Bill from the National Assemby (NASS) to pave the way for more comprehensive consultation and consensus-building among key stakeholders.
The NEC made the recommendation at its 145th meeting chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Making the recommendation in response to a presentation by the Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, the council called for extensive consultations with stakeholders to align with the far-reaching impacts of the proposed tax reforms.
Speaking at the meeting, the Vice President said the tax reforms initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration will broaden the nation’s revenue base, foster economic stability, and diminish dependency on specific sectors.
“I must admit that the tax reforms initiated at the onset of this administration by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, have opened avenues to address stakeholders’ concerns, particularly regarding VAT reform and its implications for sub-national revenues.
“As representatives of diverse interests, I have no doubt that you share a common aspiration: to broaden our revenue base, foster economic stability and diminish our dependency on specific sectors,” he said.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state told State House correspondents that NEC called for the withdrawal of the bill to enable stakeholdersmsje inputs.
“NEC today took a presentation from the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms. Their main focus is fair taxation, responsible borrowing and sustainable spending.
“The Council acknowledged that the country is underperforming on all indices as regards huge from major revenue sources, also tax to GDP ratio and so on.
“So after extensive deliberation, NEC noted the need for sufficient alignment between and amongst the stakeholders for the proposed reforms.
“So, council, therefore,recommend the need to withdraw the bill currently before the National Assembly on tax reforms so that we can have wider consultations and also build consensus around these reforms for the benefit of the entire country, and also to give people, for them to know the vision and where we are moving the country in terms of a tax reform, because there’s really a lot of miscommunication, misinformation.
“So, the bill will draw from the National Survey. And then there will be consultations afterwards,” he said.
