Despite the groundswell of opposition against the so-called tax reform bill, President Tinubu is hell bent on lobbying the National Assembly to pass the painful and toxic bill which is not only inimical to Northern Nigeria but to the rest of the country.
Even the Nigerian governors forum (NGF) comprising of the 36 states of the federation and cutting across the different parts of the socio-political strata of the country had called for the withdrawal of the bill to allow for further consultation but President Tinubu is adamant that the bill must pass. Mega socio-cultural cum political groups including Afenifere, Ohaneze Ndigbo have called for restraint and wider consultation but the President still maintained the bill. It needs to be restated that the interest of the good people of Nigeria is always over and above any individual interests.
Clearly, the bill is not in tandem with any known development agenda because it is based on CONSUMPTION not PRODUCTION. The toxicity of the bill is moreso when juxtaposed with the current ultra advanced and mega poverty, joblessness and aggravated hunger which have overwhelmed majority of Nigerians today. Since May 29th 2023, the price of almost every commodity or service in Nigeria has skyrocketed to unimaginable levels.
The Tinubu administration has removed subsidy on almost everything including the proverbial PURE WATER. This administration introduced tuition fees in tertiary institutions, removed subsidy on petrol and electricity and pushed the exchange rate of the USD to NGN to almost N2,000 through a deliberate floatation of the Naira while claiming that they are ‘implementing reforms. The interests of the Bretton wood institutions, the IMF and the world bank cannot be considered over and above the interests of Nigerians. These neo-colonial institutions have been calling for the removal of fuei subsidy in Nigeria since I can remember. Successive Nigerian Presidents have resisted the pressure from the IMF and world bank to remove fuel subsidy except Tinubu. You can’t remove fuel subsidy when you don’t have any options for supply. You can’t remove fuel subsidy when your refineries are not working.
On the flip side, I see the Tinubu administration employing some theoretical cum textbook western-style policies which do not fit into Nigeria’s ground peculiarities and realities. This is the reason why almost every policy introduced by President Tinubu has been a subject of huge controversy in Nigeria. The Tinubu administration needs to be more local and look more into the realities on the ground in Nigeria before imposing more taxes on hunger-ravaged Nigerians. This government is clearly inspired by western, textbook methods.
Make no mistake, taxation will never build an economy. Only production will.
Instead of imposing more taxes which the citizens and corporate bodies cannot bear anyway, the Tinubu administration should focus on building factories and ramp up the manufacturing sector to create jobs, boost exports and strengthen the value of the Naira against the major global currencies. Only production and exports can save our Naira from being a ‘mere tissue paper.
VAT DISTORTIONS
It is an established fact that the new tax bills will conspire to further impoverish the North, the so-called poverty capital of Africa. For example, the VAT payable based on consumption which is 20% in the current tax law, will be increased to 60% with Lagos state taking the largest share out of it.
Under Tinubu’s new tax proposal, cows made in Sokoto and transported to Lagos for consumption, will attract 60% so-called consumption tax whose major beneficiary will be Lagos with Sokoto the ‘producer’ getting very little out of it. The VAT formula in the new tax bill will favour states with a higher consumption rate which are Lagos and Rivers. The North with a low consumption rate due to insecurity but a huge producer of mostly agricultural products and raw materials, shortchanged big time if the bill is passed.
In the law of taxation, you can only impose taxes on the people if their income can withstand it. The current income per capita, minimum wage and purchasing power of Nigerians CANNOT absorb any more taxes. The Tinubu administration should think of reducing taxes rather than the other way round.
What is the essence of economic reforms through which citizens are literally dropping dead on the streets due to hunger? Have reforms ever worked in Nigeria? The sincere answer is NO. If anything, economic reforms through weak institutions in a weak government such as Nigeria’s only create system leakages for a select few to make illegal money while the majority of the citizens bear the brunt through high prices of goods and services.
Our Northern senators and members HoR must stand up and kill the tax reform bill before it plunges the country into the second round of hardship under Tinubu which could potentially lead to mass action and anarchy in the land. The recently staged #endbadgovernance protests that rocked the country is a pointer to the need for caution and not arrogance in leadership.
What is required now is for the Northern Governors, senators and House of Representatives to form a GRAND COALITION to kill the bill and avoid the anger of their constituents. Every senator and member HoR from Northern Nigeria stands to potentially lose his seat if this bill scales through. Already, people in Northern Nigeria are saying that their senators and members HoR have been ‘settled’ with bags of cash to vote in favour of the Tinubu tax bill. ‘They will come and meet us during election time’ the people are saying.
What should preoccupy any responsible government today is how to PRODUCE to create jobs and not how to CONSUME by imposing mindless taxes on innocent and struggling families. Indeed, President Tinubu deserves his nick name: T-Pain because after removing fuel subsidy and causing unprecedented pain and hunger on the citizens, he still wants to impose more taxes on the same citizens he claims to love. Haba Mr President.
Clearly, this is not the time to impose more taxes on Nigerians.
The Tinubu administration should be concerned on how it can diversify Nigeria’s economy away from oil towards the agro-allied and manufacturing sectors particularly the TEXTILE sector. It is only a government that has ran out of ideas to develop the economy through production and job creation that will resort to imposing needless taxes on struggling citizens, families and businesses. Most businesses are closing shop today so why making it worse by imposing more taxes on the struggling ones? If you impose more taxes on the companies, these companies will recoup by increasing prices which the common man on the streets has to bear so the impact of this bill will ultimately fall on innocent Nigerians. Tinubu’s tax bill promotes income inequality and widens the gap between the rich and the poor. It must not be allowed to pass.
ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES.
Tinubu’s tax reform bill is against Islamic tenets because it taxes almost everything including inherited estates and thus against Islamic law on inheritance based on the Ashab-Ul-Furud which defines the heirs eligible for inheritance.
Section 4(3) of the National Tax bill is clear and unambiguous that:
“Income of a family recognized under any law or custom in Nigeria as family income in which the several interests of individual members of the family cannot be separately determined is chargeable to tax”.
Don’t miss the provision in this section that income of a family where the individual interests of the members cannot be determined separately will be taxed. This means that the estate left by a deceased has to be taxed before it is shared under the Islamic law of inheritance and Ashab-Ul-Furud tenets. This is clearly against the provisions of Islam as relates inheritance because it shortchanges the beneficiaries by taxing the estate before sharing it.
Our leaders in Northern Nigeria must stop the defeatist approach which they normally employ to protect their seats. If you know what the President wants to do will increase poverty and hunger on your constituents, why don’t you challenge the action? Why not vote against the bill that will impoverish your constituents?
Why not form a coalition of Northern governors, senators and representatives to fight the anti-North and pro-Lagos Tinubu tax bill? We really don’t have to wait for another President after Tinubu to scrap Tinubu’s tax law if it passes. The time to stop it is now.
Why can’t you challenge the President if need be to protect your people?
Nigeria’s leaders are very weak…..and the followers too. Our leaders in Northern Nigeria can’t stand for us because they are afraid to be on the bad books of the President or lose their seats Everyone is trying to protect his/her seat.
REGIONAL AGENDA
In another breath, it is clear that President Tinubu’s tax bill is part of a grand agenda to take Nigeria back to regions and parliamentary system. The strategy goes thus: First of all, weaken the opposition to the regional agenda (the North) economically in your first term by imposing taxes that the region cannot absorb. Therafter, implement your regional agenda in the second term when the North is very weak economically.
When the Tinubu administration first introduced the regional agenda early this year through a proxy one Dr Akin Fapohunda, it was soundly rejected. The President then followed up with the so-called tax reform bill that will further impoverish the North which is already at about 85% average rate of poverty while Lagos state, the only beneficiary of Tinubu’s tax bill has 4% rate of poverty.
Nigeria’s problem is not taxation after all, if the taxes are collected, what does the government do with it except divert the proceeds to private pockets? The mega corruption in Nigeria will never allow any so-called tax reform to work. They will collect the taxes but you will not see anything on ground to justify these taxes.
