By Kolawole Ojebisi
The lawmaker representing Tambuwal Federal Constituency of Sokoto State, Hon Abdussamad Dasuki, has advised the Presidency on how to use available data at its disposal to convince critics of the proposed tax reform bills of their merits.
Explaining how to make use of his advice, Dasuki urged the presidency to present data showing tax revenue that accrued to states and the FCT from January to September 2024 under the current tax law and the projected tax revenue.
He noted that this comparative analysis would help critics of the bills and other concerned Nigerians to make informed decisions on the vexed matter.
Speaking at the weekend, the lawmaker, who chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Shipping Services, said providing these data would help even lawmakers to do a comparative analysis of the extant tax law and the new tax bills for a sound resolution.
Dasuki said this would also allay fears among concerned Nigerians that the proposed tax laws would worsen the economies of some states and have enormous negative impacts on citizens.
He said Nigerians had the right to know about a proposed law that would have consequential impacts on their lives and the economies of their states.
“I have told members of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms during our recent close door meeting with the House leadership that the best way to get the buy-in of the majority of Nigerians on these proposed laws is to convince them with data.
“Specifically, I advised the committee to provide data on the amounts received by each of the 36 states from January to September 2024 side-by-side its projection of what each would have received from January to September under the proposed law,” Dasuki said.
The federal lawmaker argued that no reasonable Nigerian would oppose a tax system that would improve the quality of lives, economies of each state and the overall development of the country but added that all patriotic citizens would oppose any tax bill that could engender inequalities among states or that is inherently detrimental to the welfare of citizens and economies of subnational entities.
“The presidency has a duty to present all available data to the public because the citizens have a right to know. Tax bills have consequential effects when passed into law, so the public has a right to know its impacts on their lives, businesses and economies of their states. That should be the starting point for an effective debate on the tax reform bills”, Dasuki stated.
