Reps
probe tax law tweaks, PDP demands suspension
This was as the Peoples Democratic Party demanded that the
Federal Government further shift forward by six months the January 1,
2026 take-off of the new tax law.
The opposition party said the shift became important following
an alleged illegal alteration made to the law passed by the National
Assembly.
President Bola Tinubu recently signed four major tax reform
bills into law, marking what the government has described as the most
significant overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system in decades.
The laws include the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax
Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act and the
Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, all operating under a single
authority, the Nigeria Revenue Service.
The reforms are designed to simplify tax compliance, expand the
tax base, eliminate overlapping taxes and modernise revenue collection across
federal, state and local governments.
The laws are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026,
following a six-month transition period for public education and system
alignment.
However, the reforms have continued to attract mixed reactions
nationwide.
On Wednesay, a PDP lawmaker from Sokoto State, Abdussamad
Dasuki, drew the attention of the House of Representatives to alleged
discrepancies in the tax reforms passed by the National Assembly and the copy
gazetted by the Federal Government.
Dasuki warned that if not addressed, the alterations would
render the new tax laws legally vulnerable as they lack legislative approval.
At the resumption of plenary on Thursday, the Speaker, Tajudeen
Abbas, underscored the seriousness of the allegations by announcing a seven-man
ad hoc committee to investigate the claims and submit a report to the House for
further legislative action.
He said, “On the revised tax laws, the House leadership has
unanimously agreed that a committee should be set up immediately to look into
the matters that were raised and many others. In that respect, I’m happy to
announce to you that the following members have been appointed to the
committee. They are Mukhtar Betara as Chairman, Idris Wase, James Faleke, Sada
Soli, Igariwey Iduma, Fredrick Agbedi and Babajimi Benson.
At Wednesday’s plenary, Dasuki had called on the House to
revisit the gazetted version of the law and compare to what the National Assembly
passed.
In response to the allegation, the PDP, on Thursday, commended
Dasuki “for his fastidiousness and courage in the discharge of his legislative
duties.
It demanded “that the commencement date of the Tax Act be
shifted from January 1, 2026, for at least six months to allow sufficient time
for the investigation of this anomaly.
The PDP warned that the disparity must be comprehensively
investigated “and not treated with the customary levity this administration has
shown towards serious issues of governance.