Outcry over Tinubu’s tax reform bills misplaced – Umeh
… Says FG needs to do a lot to sensitize Nigerians
The federal parliamentarian representing Anambra Central Senatorial District in the Red Chamber, Distinguished Senator Victor Umeh, has said that there was nothing to fear about the tax reform bills currently before the National Assembly for legislative scrutiny and subsequent passage into law.
In October this year, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) submitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration, which according to him, were aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s fiscal institutions and ensuring the actualization of his administration’s comprehensive development plans for the country. Tinubu’s introduction of the bills provoked public outcry, sparking widespread debates across Nigeria.
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Umeh, a chieftain of Labour Party (LP), however, noted that in the midst of the resentments against the proposed tax reforms, the Federal Government only has to do the needful by properly marketing the bills to Nigerians for a better understanding of the contents to clear their doubts.
He maintained that many things have gone wrong in the country resulting in the loss of confidence in governance by the citizens, who are not willing to pay monies charged by government, believing that they will not be judiciously utilized for the purpose they were meant for.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Diaspora Matters and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), further observed that reforms were necessary steps and actions the government needs to take to bring about the change that will guarantee the growth of the country’s economy and make life better for the people.
“Globally what people don’t like to do is to pay tax. Nobody likes to pay money. But a system that has worked effectively would have the confidence of its citizens to pay tax. When you charge tax that people will not be willing to pay, and then you use force to get the tax, it is not a good tax. Any tax that you use force to get is not a good tax. A good tax is a tax that people will be willing to pay. And so, it will be easy to administer and the collection process will be easy.
“If they know that the money they are paying, government is using it to provide infrastructure and services, people will be more persuaded to pay tax. But Nigeria at this state, we are in a situation where Nigerian people have lost faith in governance. So, any action that is geared towards taxing the citizens will receive immediate rejections. And that is what we are seeing with the tax bills.
“People have not been able to read the bills. They have continued to rely on social media posts to condemn the proposed tax reforms. I have read the tax reform bills. And I can tell that in as much as we will be doing consultation, I have not seen anything that is very harmful in the bills, that should warrant a total rejection.
“What we need to do is to explain and ensure that people understand the purpose and the intent of the bills. So, government has a lot of work to do to market its objectives to the Nigerian people, and do things that will promote confidence on the part of Nigerians. The drivers of the government should be able to show that they are ready to be like ordinary people. So that when you are asking Nigerians to pay money, they will know that they are not paying this money for you to go and buy luxuries for yourself and your family,” Umeh stated.
He added that “If you subject the tax reform bills to critical analysis, you will see that most of the resentments and outcry are misplaced. I have studied the bills and I don’t think there should any cause for alarm. Most of the things they were pointing out to kick against the bills were not true. They were thinking that there was an intention to make Lagos and Ogun State to take all the money that will accrue from VAT. They felt that because headquarters of all the big corporations and companies are registered in Lagos, therefore any tax they collect will go to Lagos State. It is not true. People have demonstrated ignorance with such position on the social media. But if you take time to study the bills you will see that it is not true.”
He however averred that “The citizens have the right to reject any good law. You can have a good bill; the citizens can reject it. And once they reject it, the bill is gone. That is the reason why the government has a lot of marketing efforts to make to convince Nigerian people. Because law making involves citizens participation. The bills will go through public hearing and the preponderant opinion of Nigerians will prevail. If they say they don’t want the tax bill we cannot go and pass the bill. So, government has a lot of work to do.”
