Few months ago, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu introduced four Tax Reform Bills to the National Assembly: The Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill in a bid to improve tax administration and provide economic, social, among other benefits to the people. CONSTAINCIA URUAKPA seeks the views of some Nigerians on the effect of the reforms on the living conditions of the citizenry.
‘You cannot reject alcohol but you enjoy the VAT from alcohol’
From what I have heard, the Tax Reform Bill tries to ensure equitable tax system that is favourable to those who actually pay the tax. You cannot for instance, reject alcohol but you enjoy the VAT from alcohol, it doesn’t make sense. So, what they are trying to achieve is a reformative tax system that is real and beneficial to all according to your own contributions. This will be good if done well. Many countries and governments worldwide, including America have done tax reforms often with the intent to carry out changes considered more economically liberal. However, a friend and a renowned man of God who also has lost hope in governments of Nigeria said the whole thing will end in corruption even though the concept is good.
• Cyriacus Nnaji
‘Companies that deal in luxury products should pay higher tax’
As a Nigerian, I feel we pay so much tax. We are highly taxed. Even an ordinary woman in the street that is into petty trading is paying too much tax that even those who earn in millions and billions are not paying. Every little thing you buy on the street is directly or indirectly taxed. Traders add whatever it is they have paid to the market authority to whatever it is you are buying. Indirectly, you are being taxed. VAT is being collected when you buy things from the shopping mall. You pay your tax. Transportation is high. Everything you do in Nigeria, you are taxed indirectly, and I don’t think they are regulating it. So, if this new proposed Tax Reform Bill will solve all the problems of over taxation, then it’s a yes for me. Secondly, companies that should pay higher tax are those that deal in luxury products like tobacco and alcohol, not companies that are into things that the ordinary man on the street would need. By the time they tax the rich, and the poor is paying less, it’s better for all of us.
• Martina Onyebuchi
‘Government needs to lead by example’
The tax reform Bill on its face value appears a beautiful piece of legislation in the works. Going by explanations regarding how it’s going to work, it sounds very excellent. I won’t blame people who are expressing doubts about what the bill is going to be, because you are dealing with a government who has a trust deficit. And again, if you look at the kind of massive push the government is putting into driving this through, you will begin to wonder if there’s no other thing in it. People are wary about so many issues, including government collecting taxes and at the end of the day, you don’t seem to do something that will benefit the people. Government needs to lead by example, be transparent and do things that will be beneficial to the people after collecting the tax. Some people are worried that when the bill becomes law, the spirit of the law might be different from its letters.
• Cosmas Omego
‘It must be done within the purview of government policies and processes’
Tax Reform Bill entailing so many aspects of taxes, is talking about VAT from consumption like alcohol that the core north will not hear. And when VAT is paid, they want to benefit from it. It’s a very big problem. The fear that a lot of people are not saying about Tax Reform Bill from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is his penchant for using his own company as consultants to collect tax, which he did in Lagos for so many years. That company is called AlphaBeta. People don’t want it. And they are saying that even if you have to do Tax Reform Bill, it must not be consulted or contracted out to anybody, any company, it must be done within the purview of government policies and government processes. That is the problem that people are facing. And if it is going to be contracted out or outsourced to consultants, then people are afraid of getting AlphaBeta into it. That’s what he did in Lagos. And he owns three quarters of Lagos. Does he want to own three quarters of Nigeria? That’s the question for everybody to look for an answer.
• Uzo Chikere
‘Governments in Nigeria have not done anything to warrant the trust of citizens’
Tax reform as I understand, is the process of changing the way taxes are collected or managed by the government, and it is usually undertaken to improve tax administration to provide economic or social benefits for the people. Series of governments in countries like America have done this with good intentions and results. The thing here is governments in Nigeria, especially the present one has not done anything to warrant the trust of Nigerians. We have seen how tax payers’ money have been used only to the benefit of few people in the corridors of power to the detriment of the generality of the citizenry. If this bill is eventually implemented, I pray that it will be one that will benefit all and not just a few.
• Benedicta Charles
‘If effectively implemented, everyone will benefit from it’
The Tax Reform Bill is a step in the right direction if taxes paid are judiciously used to provide infrastructure and other essential amenities for the nation. This will no doubt, have positive effect if government, for instance, invest in boosting energy supply. The small and medium enterprises and many others will definitely smile again. What about investing in rehabilitating the moribund refineries to bring down cost of petroleum products? This will positively affect every sector of the economy. If effectively implemented, without recourse to the ugly Nigerian syndrome of corruption and leadership insensitivity, everyone including, the common man will benefit from it.
• Dr. Chinyere Amechi
‘Government must be transparent and accountable’
If Nigerians at the lower rung of the ladder are going to benefit from the tax reforms embarked upon by the administration of President Tinubu, a number of factors must be taken into consideration. One, government must be transparent and accountable, ensuring that revenue generated through it is judiciously spent on social programmes. Former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, comes to mind. Nigerians will pay if they verified that their taxes are being well spent on programmes like infrastructure, education, health, among others. Secondly, religious leaders should desist from smuggling in religion into the reform as we are currently hearing from certain sections of the country that FG is targeting their inheritance.
Religious leaders should be unbiased in cascading government economic policies to their followers. They should be able to interpret and not misinform their congregations. Segun Onagoruwa, Managing Partner at Vertex Consulting Ltd. explains that the reform is geared towards creating a tax system that works for everyone. The most significant change for many people will be the reduction in Personal Income Tax (PIT), which applies to salaries, wages, and rental income. By raising the tax-free threshold, it means that more people will be exempted from paying PIT altogether, thereby putting more money in their pockets.
• Olusegun Obisanya
