Tinubu’s tax reforms bills, documents better fit in dusbin than for Nigeria, Says Dr Usman Bugaje

By KEMI KASUMU

Bugaje said the Presidential Tax Reform Committee led by Taiwo Oyedele has no clear understanding of the country’s economic and regional diversities. “I have engaged Mr. Taiwo who leads the team that went along to craft the nearly 300-page tax reform bill. It doesn’t appear that this team understands the society for which that policy is made.”

Amidst bewilderment in which Nigerians found the nation’s information airspace as some main media took a stand with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declaring him their “Man of the Year” award winner, more Nigerians have come out to say no to such “unwarranted vainglorious drama”.

They described as compromise of professional ethics their taking sides with the president to insult the sensibility of suffering Nigerians, by such attempted “crafty” defence of his allegedly indefensible hardship, hunger and biting poverty-stricken policies.

Among public reactions that have come was that of the Islamic scholar, political activist and civil society leader, Dr. Usman Bugaje, who tore the whole idea of the seemingly organised award to shreds as he dropped his verdict on President Tinubu, saying he is acting like a monarch in his approach to the proposed Tax Reform Bills.

Watch this link to watch the interview HERE:

The well respected scholar, who gave this verdict in an interview he granted on Thursday January 2, 2024 on Arise Television, said the controversial tax reform bill should be “put in the dustbin” even as he put it off as an idea that is “out of touch with reality.”

Unpaturbed by some media practitioners’ comments that appear to favour the tax reforms bills because they see complaints coming against them as coming more from the North, the former Katsina State Gubernatorial Candidate said the bill does not align with Nigeria’s economic reality and could worsen hardship and insecurity.

The DEFENDER reports some detribalised Nigerians of Southern extractions have knocked fellow southerners and party men in the North defending the tax reforms for ethnic and political reasons.

They pointed out to them that asides the money from oil, which is largely from Niger Delta states joined recently by some states of the North, no other sector of the economy contributes more to tax-based revenues generation than agriculture where Northern Nigeria is major, both in crop and animal, dairy and poultry productions.

It will be recalled that President Bola Tinubu had transmitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly on October 3, 2024, but the bills were greeted with opposition particularly from Northern legislators.

Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin had to cancel Kano as venue for his daughter’s wedding and shifted it to Abuja over fear of his security, as his support for the bills infuriated and incurred the anger of people in 19 states of Northern Nigeria, particularly Kano.

In the existing tax law, states normally use the 50:30:20 sharing ratio — 50 percent for equality, 30 percent for population, and 20 percent for derivation.

If the bills scale through the National Assembly, states will use the sharing ratio of 20:20:60 — equality, population and derivation, respectively.

But the new bills stated, “Notwithstanding any formula that any other law may prescribe, the net revenue accruing by virtue of the operation of chapter six of the Nigeria Tax Act shall be distributed as follows: (a) 10 percent to the Federal Government; (b) 55 percent to the State Governments and the Federal Capital Territory; and (c) 35 percent to the Local Governments.

“Provided that 60 percent of the amount standing to the credit of states and local governments shall be distributed among them on the basis of derivation.”

Bugaje said, “The governors rejected it and taxation is on the concurrent list. And the president is saying this is sacrosanct. Sacrosanct how? A bill in the front of the National Assembly has to go through the normal process and the president is beginning to behave like a monarch in a way.

“In the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, you will find the Constitution in arranging and sequencing government, the National Assembly comes first, the executives come second. How can a president speak about a bill that is presented to the National Assembly as sacrosanct?”

Bugaje said the Presidential Tax Reform Committee led by Taiwo Oyedele has no clear understanding of the country’s economic and regional diversities.

“I have engaged Mr. Taiwo who leads the team that went along to craft the nearly 300-page tax reform bill. It doesn’t appear that this team understands the society for which that policy is made.

“This looks very much like some professionals living in Lagos and Abuja who have no idea of the consequences of what they are proposing.

“There are attempts in the bill to soften or make things easy for the struggling citizens but on the other hand there are major things they have done to create a kind of disparity within the states and even the bill has not defined the most controversial issues like: what is attribution? what is derivation?”

According to him the lack of clarity on issues will result in further rejection.

He added, “My thinking is the proper thing is for the Tax Reform Bill to be completely put in the dustbin. Then a process started. I do appreciate tax reforms. We should broaden the net and many people are supposed to be paying.

“There are certain things that should be addressed, also.”