Senate house

The Nigerian Senate is poised to approve the tax reform bills submitted by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly.  This development, expected to take place today (Tuesday), was confirmed by two senators who spoke anonymously, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

According to one of the sources, the approval process was initially scheduled for last week but was delayed due to the controversy surrounding the Rivers State emergency declaration. However, he expressed confidence that all four bills would be passed without further delays.  Efforts to obtain official confirmation from the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, were unsuccessful, as he neither responded to calls nor replied to text messages at the time of filing this report.

The Senate’s impending approval follows the recent passage of the same bills by the House of Representatives.  The four tax reform bills—Nigerian Tax Bill, Tax Administration Bill, Revenue Tax Board Bill, and Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill—were thoroughly reviewed clause by clause before their approval by the lower chamber.

Some key amendments in the bills include maintaining the current Value Added Tax (VAT) rate at 7.5 percent instead of introducing a staggered increase.  Additionally, the reforms extend income tax exemptions to specific agricultural businesses and military officers, aiming to incentivize investment in critical sectors.

Two weeks ago, the Senate conducted a public hearing on the proposed tax reforms, bringing together key economic and financial stakeholders.  The session featured contributions from government officials and industry leaders, including the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji; Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari; as well as members of the Federal Executive Council and other relevant agencies.

With the Senate’s expected concurrence today, the bills will be transmitted to President Tinubu for final approval and signing into law.