The Nigerian Senate is poised to pass the highly debated Tax Reform Bills today, which will exempt individuals earning less than N1 million per year from paying income tax. The tax reforms, which aim to overhaul Nigeria’s taxation system, are expected to ease the burden on low-income earners while targeting higher earners and large corporations.
This development comes after a detailed presentation to the Senate by key members of the federal government’s tax executive team on Wednesday. The team included Tanimu Yakubu, Director-General of the Budget Office, Zacch Adedeji, Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.
During the session, the tax executives emphasized that the new reforms would prioritize taxing prosperity rather than poverty. “We are not trying to tax poverty, but to tax prosperity,” said Taiwo Oyedele, stressing that the reform was designed to address existing inequities in the country’s tax system. He added that those earning below N1 million annually would be exempted from personal income tax.
The key provisions of the proposed tax reforms include exemptions for low-income earners, simplified tax processes, and improvements in tax administration. “Today, we are taxing people that earn N30,000 a month. That’s N1,000 a day. How can anybody survive earning N30,000 a month? Even if they live alone, they will do transport, they will buy food, they will pay rent, they will pay for electricity. They cannot survive,” Oyedele remarked. “So we are proposing in the bill before you that anybody earning N800,000 a year, including an extra N200,000 for rent, about N1 million a year, should not pay personal income tax.”
He went on to clarify that this threshold, which would exempt low-income earners from tax, is not the highest in Africa. “This threshold is not even the highest in Africa. It’s still lower than many small African countries,” Oyedele said.
The tax executives also presented an overview of the four major bills that make up the proposed tax reforms: the Nigerian Tax Bill, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill. These bills are designed to harmonize tax laws, improve tax administration, and enhance collaboration among tax authorities.
“We are proposing four major bills aimed at overhauling the tax system,” Oyedele explained. “The Nigerian Tax Bill seeks to harmonize major taxes into one legislation, simplifies tax processes, and proposes exemptions for low-income earners. The Tax Administration Bill aims to establish standards for tax administration, promotes the use of technology, and aims to streamline tax collection.”
Another significant aspect of the reform is the proposed changes to the Value Added Tax (VAT) distribution system. The reform aims to eliminate VAT on essential goods and services and to revise the VAT sharing formula, which critics argue disproportionately favors Lagos State due to its status as the hub of corporate headquarters. The reform will introduce a more equitable distribution based on consumption within states.
The tax reform team also highlighted other key proposals, including the elimination of minimum tax for loss-making companies, the introduction of a 15% effective tax rate on profits for large corporations, and the establishment of a Tax Ombudsman to protect small businesses.
The bills, which were transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on September 3, 2024, are part of a broader effort to reform Nigeria’s tax system, following recommendations from the Presidential Committee on Fiscal and Tax Reforms. The bills have sparked both support and criticism, but the government argues that the reforms will help create a more efficient and fair tax system in the country.
Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, confirmed that the debate on the tax bills would continue on Thursday, as lawmakers work to finalize the legislation.
If passed, the tax reform bills are expected to bring significant changes to Nigeria’s taxation landscape, with a focus on promoting fairness, improving revenue generation, and addressing the needs of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.