Senators from the South East under the platform, South East Caucus in Senate have joined some of their colleagues from the North to demand for wider consultations before passage of the Tax Reform Bills.
The South-East caucus gave the condition at the end of their emergency meeting held on Monday at the National Assembly complex.
Nigerian Tribune checks revealed that the Forum of lawmakers across parties divided under the aegis of Southern Senators Forum had last Friday met and resolved to galvanise support for the bills.
In the communique issued to newsmen and signed by Senators Tokunbo Abiru, Victor Umeh, Asuquo Ekpeyong, Kenneth Eze, and two other members of the Forum executive, they expressed the hope that the proposed legislation would “foster a fair, equitable and more inclusive tax system and therefore deserves support of all Nigerians.”
The communique further read in part: “The Nigerian Senators Forum of the 10th Senate urges support of all Nigerians for the passage of the Tax Reform Bills, citing that it is consistent with best practices, offers opportunity for business growth and offers a once-in-lifetime opportunity to tidy our nation tax system;
“The Forum believes that the bills are well intentioned and will address many of the challenges in the fiscal policy space in Nigeria among which are multiplicity of taxes and levies which have hindered the growth of small businesses, shallow tax base, as well as loopholes in tax levies and corruption in tax administration.”
Addressing journalists, Senator representing Abia South on the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and leader of Senate Caucus, Enyinnaya Abaribe disclosed that Senators from the entire five South – Eastern States needed to consult widely with their people to secure their buy-in for the Tax Reform Bills.
He said: “As much as the entire Senators from South East, are not against the Tax Reform Bills before both chambers of the National Assembly for consideration, we want wider consultations to be carried out on them.
“Specifically, we need to consult with our constituents across the 15 Senatorial Districts in the Zone, with our state governments and other critical stakeholders.
“We have read through the bills and want to share our knowledge with other stakeholders from the South East Zone for much more equitable framework in the bills that would eventually be passed.
“We are not against the bills but need to consult with our people.”
The contentious Bills include, Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, Nigeria Tax Administration Bill 2024, Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024, and Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024.
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