Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has urged the 9th National Assembly to add value-added tax (VAT) on the Exclusive List making the Federal Government have legislative control over 7.5% consumption tax paid when goods are purchased and services are rendered.
El-Rufai stated this in Abuja on Monday at the second edition of the ‘Distinguished Parliamentarian Lecture’ organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies.
According to him, VAT is a major survival for Nigeria, especially now that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has not remitted a penny into the federation account this year.
El-Rufai also urged the National Assembly to make happen state and community policing to solve Nigeria’s multifarious security challenges.
In March, the National Assembly rejected a bill seeking to include VAT in the Exclusive List.
The move followed a protracted legal tussle between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Rivers State Government over VAT collection and personal income tax (PIT) in the state.
Last year, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers signed a bill on VAT collection into law, lamenting what he called injustice in the country especially in the area of resource allocation.
Wike said Rivers State generated N15bn VAT revenue in June 2021 but got N4.7bn in return, while Kano generated N2.8bn in the same month and got the same N2.8bn back.
The Rivers governor also said N46.4bn was collected from Lagos State in the same month but the Federal Government gave Lagos N9.3bn.
The case has been in court for over a year with no end in sight.