James Godwin Reporting
The House of Representatives would hold public hearing on the four tax reform bills recently passed for second reading on Wednesday, February 28, 2025.
Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, who announced this during Tuesday plenary, said the House has decided to constitute a special committee to handle the public hearing in view of its sensitive nature.
The public hearing is supposed to have been handled by the House Committee on Finance, but the Speaker said a 36 man commu has been put in place for the assignment.
The Committee to be headed by the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, James Abiodun Faleke will have the Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee as Deputy.
Leader of the Northern Caucus, Alhassan Ado Doguwa (APC, Kano), leader of the Southern caucus, Nicholas Mutu (PDP, Delta) as well as the six zonal caucus leaders of Sada Solo (North West, Ahmed Idris Wase (Northern Central), Mukthar Aliyu Betara (North East), Babajimi Benson (South West), Fred Agbedi (South South) and Igariwey Iduma Enwo (South East).
The tax reform bills include the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, which aims to provide the fiscal framework for taxation in the country, and the Tax Administration Bill, which will provide a clear and concise legal framework for all taxes in the country and reduce disputes.
Others are the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, expected to repeal the Federal Inland Revenue Service Act and establish the Nigeria Revenue Service as well as the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, which will create a tax tribunal and a tax ombudsman.
The committee is expected to engage stakeholders in the nation’s tax system, including officials of the Presidential Committee on Tax reform, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria Governors Forum, civil society organisations among others.