National Assembly Transmits Tax Reform Bills to Tinubu

National Assembly Transmits Tax Reform Bills to Tinubu.
Senate, House resolve VAT revenue sharing with 30% state retention.
Reforms aim to modernise tax system and boost revenue efficiency.

The National Assembly has formally transmitted the long-awaited tax reform bills to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, marking a crucial step in the administration’s economic restructuring drive under the Renewed Hope initiative.

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This was confirmed on Tuesday by Senator Yemi Adaramodu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, during a press conference at the National Assembly complex in Abuja. He announced that harmonisation between the Senate and the House of Representatives on the bills had been successfully concluded.

The legislative package includes the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, and Nigeria Tax Bill each crafted to modernise the country’s tax system, expand the tax base, and strengthen inter-governmental revenue cooperation.

Initially submitted by the executive in November 2024, the bills underwent extensive deliberations, amendments, and negotiations before securing approval from both chambers. Adaramodu noted that the time taken was deliberate to ensure legal accuracy and structural consistency.

“Yes, the bill has now been transmitted. It is out of our hands and on its way to the executive,” he said. “Such tax reforms demand detailed scrutiny by legal departments to align with existing laws before final submission.”

He explained that after joint committee reviews, legal vetting, and document aggregation, the final version was endorsed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House for onward transmission to the Presidency.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio had earlier attributed the eventual passage of the bills to “national interest, inclusive legislative engagement, and strategic leadership.” He disclosed that one of the major sticking points was the proposal for states to retain 60% of VAT revenues—a clause that faced stiff resistance from Northern lawmakers, who raised concerns over economic disparity.

The compromise saw the retention rate reduced to 30%, while the term “derivation” was dropped in favour of “place of consumption” to foster national consensus.

The reform process also faced initial pushback from some state governors and divisions within the National Assembly. However, Akpabio praised the eventual cooperation, particularly from the governors and younger lawmakers mobilised by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

“We must salute the courage of our governors who initially resisted but later embraced the revised framework for the sake of unity,” Akpabio stated.

If President Tinubu signs the bills into law, the reforms will become one of the most sweeping updates to Nigeria’s fiscal policy in decades—streamlining tax administration, decentralising oversight, and curbing longstanding revenue leakages.