The proposed Tax Reform Bills of the President Bola Tinubu-led government have drawn severe criticism from the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), which has called them defective and potentially detrimental to the economic reality of Northern Nigeria.
The forum called for an immediate suspension of the reforms and explained its concerns and recommendations in a press release signed on Saturday by NEF Board Chairman A.M. Al-Amin Daggash.
According to the forum, “It is terribly shocking, that, in this time and age, with nearly three decades of unbroken experimentation of democratic governance, our dear country will be so sadly saddled with a government that is working assiduously, to deny its citizens, the vigorous ventilation of democratic opinions and freedom of expression.”
The four bills that make up the proposed reforms—the Nigeria Tax Bill, Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill—are intended to increase government revenue and improve the effectiveness of tax collection.
The NEF countered that Northern Nigeria, which struggles with issues like poverty, young unemployment, and insecurity, is disproportionately affected by these policies.
“The sudden and abrupt introduction of these obvious draconian Tax Reform Bills by the Federal government would certainly exacerbate rather than alleviate the unbearable existing harsh economic realities being faced by the poor and vulnerable people in Northern Nigeria,” said the statement.
The Nigerian government was criticized by the forum for not following international best practices in policymaking, which include involving stakeholders and creating an open implementation process.
“These glaring failures necessitated the timely setting up of a Committee of Experts on the field, by the Northern Elders’ Forum,” they stated.
The NEF’s suggestions included asking the government to pause the hasty implementation of the measures, give stakeholder consultation top priority, and reevaluate plans to raise VAT.
As they put it, “We strongly recommend that the status quo should be maintained by the government, so as to strengthen and protect these strategic national institutions.” They also asked for the protection of important institutions such as TETFund, NITDA, and NASENI.
Given the substantial impact on the economy of Northern Nigeria, the forum also emphasized the necessity for equitable distribution of VAT revenue and argued in favor of exempting livestock and agricultural products from VAT.
In order to foster tolerance, they also suggested substituting the word “religious” for divisive ones like “ecclesiastical” and suggested exempting religious organizations and family inheritance riches from taxes.
According to the NEF, “The leadership of Northern Elders’ Forum holds the firm view that government’s interests will best be served by actively engaging in comprehensive dialogue with varied and critical stakeholders, in order to foster very admirable legislative outcomes that will respect the rights of all citizens.”
The forum reiterated its dedication to helping create an open and fair tax administration system that puts the interests of economic development and national cohesion first.