Fiscal Responsibility Commission backs tax reform bills

The Fiscal Responsibility Commission, FRC, has thrown its weight behind the Tax Reform Bills currently before the National Assembly.

The Chairman of the Commission, Victor Muruako, made this known at an interaction with academics and journalists on the sidelines of the Fellowship Lecture and Investiture Ceremony of the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, CMAN, held on Monday in Abuja.

A statement by the Commissions’s Head, Strategic Communications Officer, Bede Anyanwu on Tuesday, disclosed that a critical analysis of the bills by the Commission has found that they do not contain any issue or item that could be said to be skewed to favour any region or section of the country.

“The bills rather create a more equitable distribution of resources amongst Nigeria’s federating states,” Muruako added.

Muruako stated that the Commission’s analyses also confirm that the proposed reforms are designed to benefit all Nigerians, particularly low-income earners and Micro Small and Medium Businesses, MSMBs.

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He highlighted some of the key benefits of the reforms, including tax relief for low-income earners, adding that people earning less than N1.7 million annually will pay less income tax.

Newspot reports that the Tax Reform Bills under consideration include the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill 2024, the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill 2024, and the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill 2024.

However, the bills, submitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu on October 3, 2024, have sparked widespread debate across the country.