Northern Governors Should Accept Tinubu's Tax Reform Bill —Shehu Sani

Former lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, has urged Northern governors to accept President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform bill and make inputs where necessary instead of raising opposition against the bill.

Sani in his reaction to the Northern governors’ rejection of the tax reform, said the bill is not inimical to the North or any part of the country.

According to him, it is rather economically beneficial and fair to all the regions of the country.

He asked the Northern governors and others to keep sentiments aside and read the bill thoroughly, stressing that the bill is a comprehensive and bold move to harmonize and simplify tax administration and streamline its operations and enforcement.

In a post on his X handle on Wednesday, Sani said, “The Tax reform Bill is not inimical to the North or any part of this country. It's in fact economically beneficial and fair to all parts. People should keep aside sentiments and read the Bill carefully.

“It's a comprehensive and bold move to harmonize and simplify tax administration and streamline its operations and enforcement.”

According to him, “The Bill will actually generate and safeguard more revenue to the states. It will also combat the corruption in the so-called tax waivers granted to business cabals.

“There is nowhere in the document where any region will be short-changed or taxes will be increased or jobs will be lost.

“Northern Governors should rescind their decision to reject the Bill, take time to read it and make inputs where necessary.”

The Tax reform Bill is not inimical to the North or any part of this country.Its in fact economically beneficial and fair to all parts.People should keep aside sentiments and read the Bill carefully.Its a comprehensive and bold move to harmonise and simplify tax administration…

— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) November 6, 2024

SaharaReporters in October reported that 19 state governors under the auspices of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) rejected the proposed shift to a derivation-based model for Value Added Tax (VAT) distribution, proposed by President Tinubu’s government.

The governors who claimed that the proposed model would be at the disadvantage of northern states and other less industrial regions, were also against the recent Tax Reform Bill the Nigerian government submitted to the National Assembly for approval.

19 Northern Governors Reject Tinubu’s Proposed Tax Hike, Say It's Against North

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The governors demanded equity and fairness in national policy implementation, saying that no geopolitical zones should be short-changed.

They explained that VAT is currently remitted based on the location of company headquarters rather than where goods and services are consumed.

According to them, the measure would negatively affect the distributed revenue from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).