Tinubu’s tax reform bills suffer setback as Senate suspends action

President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform bills have suffered a setback as the Senate suspended action on the proposed legislations.

This was made known by the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, who presided during the plenary on Wednesday.

The red chamber further instructed the Committee on Finance to stay in action on the public hearing pending the time the agitation in the public space is addressed.

This comes as the Senate constituted a special committee to meet with the executive branch and work with the federal government to resolve the issues surrounding the tax reform bills.

“In this regard, we have decided to set aside politics, ethnicity, and regionalism to work together on resolving the issues surrounding the tax reform bills.

“In collaboration with the executive arm of government, we agreed to establish a forum to identify and address contentious areas to ensure national unity and progress.

“Before the introduction of these bills, we faced numerous challenges, including insecurity and economic issues.

“The President has been working to address these problems, and we are committed to supporting these efforts while tackling global economic challenges.

“We also agreed that no other issues should aggravate the country’s current difficulties.

“It has been mutually decided between the Executive and the Senate to engage the Judiciary to sort out these matters,” Barau stated.

Recall that the bills sparked controversy upon their introduction to the National Assembly.

The bills, which include the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024; and Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024, are aimed at revamping the country’s tax laws.

However, Northern governors and the National Economic Council rejected the bills on the grounds that they would put the region at a disadvantage.

But Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, recently explained that the bills are more favourable to the Northern region.

Meanwhile, the latest move by the Senate comes after the bills were passed for second reading at the Senate last week.

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives had a rowdy session over divergent views on the tax reform bills.