President Bola Tinubu on Thursday forwarded four executive bills on tax reforms to the National Assembly for legislative process and approval, including the one seeking for renaming of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS to Nigeria Revenue Service, NRS.
The name changing bill for FIRS as contained in the letter addressed to the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio and read during plenary, is titled: “The Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill which according to President Tinubu, seeks to repeal the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, No. 13, 2007 and establishes the Nigeria Revenue Service, to assess, collect and account for revenue accruable to the government of the federation.
Other reforms as contained in the letter include the one titled: “Transmission of Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Bills to the National Assembly”, are (i)The Nigeria Tax Bill which seek to provide a consolidated fiscal framework for taxation in Nigeria;
(ii) The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, which seeks to provide a clear and concise legal framework for the fair, consistent and efficient administration of all the tax laws to facilitate ease of tax compliance, reduce tax disputes and optimize revenue.
(iii) The Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill which aims at establishing the Joint Revenue Board, the Tax Appeal Tribunal and the Office of The Tax Ombudsman for the harmonization, coordination and settlement of disputes arising from revenue administration in Nigeria.
According to the President, the proposed tax bill presents substantial benefits to a library, government connectives and economic growth by enhancing tax payers compliance strengthening fiscal institutions, and fostering a more effective and transparent fiscal regime.
“I am confident that the bill when passed, will encourage investment, boost consumer spending and stimulate Nigeria’s economic growth,” he stressed.