Following the introduction of the Tax Reform Bills by the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration in the year 2024, the country was divided sharply along regional lines owing to misconceptions and misinterpretations about certain portions of the bills which aim to reform the concept of tax administration in Nigeria.
The ensuing misinformation predictably, gave room for ethnic colouration and political mischief by people who have not even read the bill which raised tensions and unnecessarily heated up the polity.
As the controversy raged threatening the tender fabric of the nation’s diversity however, the House of Representatives realised that as a critical stakeholder in the polity, it has to intervene before things get out of hand, and the lot fell on the House committee on Finance chaired by Hon. James Faleke, an uncommon patriot who has always made himself available to serve the nation.
Faleke, who is not new to trouble shooting and drawing from his years of experience in the legislature, rolled up his sleeves and quietly began to explore ways of simplifying the general intent of the bill for mass appreciation and highlighting why they’re necessary for a developing economy like Nigeria.
To achieve that, the Chairman of the Finance Committee rallied his colleagues to resist the urge to view the lens from the narrow prisms of regions and parochialism but to appreciate the intended general outcome for the overall good of the nation.
To ensure broad-based consultation, the committee co-opted key national, regional, and zonal leaders from the parliament to build the needed consensus.
In appreciation of corncerns from the draft bills, the Reps committee took the broader challenge of taking the narrative to the public while encouraging inputs from various sectors of the economy as well as sections of the country and organised a 3-day public hearing.
The forum provided a veritable platform for key stakeholders to air their views and contribute to strengthening the bills and the chairman of the committee made the session lively and participatory with his mature interventions and democratic posture.
With the active support of Rt Hon Ahmed Idris Wase, the former Deputy Speaker of the 9th Assembly, the Finance Committee is addressing grey areas of the New Tax Reform Bills by meticulously x-raying the bill line by line.
The observations over grey areas like VAT charges, and the distribution of revenue based on Derivation, Population, and Equality are being mainstreamed to ensure all parts of the country benefit.
The bills are being simplified for easy understanding, projecting their benefits of lower corporate tax rates, the reduction of income inequality, engendering inflation control, and economic stability.
With these, people have come to understand that the tax reform bill introduces a new tax band and a progressive rate where higher income is taxed at higher rates, while low income is exempted or taxed at lower rates and that this change is likely to reduce the tax burden of low-income earners in the country and improve their disposable income.
Against all odds, the lawmaker has gradually succeeded in addressing the controversial concerns raised and through negotiation and moral suasion won the hearts of many to desirability of the bills.
Consequently, calm has not only been restored but significance of the tax reform bills has been accepted as one of the ways to drive the economy in the right direction.
This would complement President Tinubu’s economic reforms aimed at stabilising Nigeria’s economy, attracting investment, and fostering long-term growth.
The initial hardships that came with the reforms which included the unification of exchange rates, fuel subsidy removal, transparent monetary policies amongst others are however gradualsleepless nights fine-tuning the bills, the House committee chair on finance has expressed confidence that at the end of the exercise, more people would come to appreciate the genuine intentions of the bills and give kudos to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his initiatives towards improving the economy of the country.
Hon. Faleke has once again, demonstrated his ingenuity for lobby and statesmanship through consultation and dialogue proving his commitment to seeing that the President succeeds in delivering the dividends of democracy to the populace.
Yakubu Dati, a former Hon. Commissioner can be reached at Yakubudati@gmail.com.
About Author
