Islamic clerics in Nigeria under the aegis of Ulama Forum (UF) have expressed their opposition to the proposed tax reform bills currently before the National Assembly, cautioning against their passage into law by the lawmakers without further scrutiny.
The clerics, in a statement yesterday (Monday, November 18) in Kano, insisted that the new tax reform bills, especially the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024 and the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill 2024 would accentuate income inequality in Nigeria.
In the statement signed by their convener, Aminu Inuwa Mohammed and their Secretary, Bashir Adamu Aliyu, the Ulamas contended that the NTAB would transfer the largest share of Value Added Tax (VAT ) revenue from the point of consumption to the head offices of production entities.
They stated that this situation would violate the spirit of fairness and equity as production is worthless without consumption.
They further argued that VAT is a consumption tax adding that transferring the lion share of its revenue to the head offices of production entities would violate the main objective of fiscal equalisation and would promote wide income disparity with its inherent risk of social disharmony.
“Moreover, the Development Levy distribution formula proposed in the NTB 2024 seemed to be designed to phase out some agencies such as TETFUND and NITDA which provide critical infrastructure and services,” they stated
The NTB proposes a gradual decrease in these agencies from 4 % of the accessible profits of the companies in 2025 and 2026Â down to 2% in 2030 when they would be phased out leaving only the Student Education Loan Fund,” they lamented.
The Ulama Forum therefore recommended that the Bills be subjected to greater and wider debate by stakeholders while urging state Governors to recruit experts to x-ray the bills and identify how they would affect their people.
They also tasked the members of the National Assembly to live to the oath of office and not allow themselves to be stampeded into the passage of the bills.
