The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) on Tuesday in Abuja stated that the current tax reform bill presently generating debates across the country needs to undergo a thorough evaluation through adequate consultation with all sub nationals and key stakeholders including civil society organisations and educational institutions before it becomes an acceptable document in the country.
CNG stated its position during a press conference addressed by its national coordinator Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi accompanied by other officials of the body.
It said the government should halt what it called VAT increase in the proposed bill and explore alternative revenue sources that do not add to the current hardship being experienced by Nigerians and to that extent, it rejected the proposed tax reforms.
“CNG categorically rejects these tax reforms in their current forms. They represent a shortsighted approach to revenue generation that sacrifices equity, inclusion and sustainability.
“CNG like all other Nigerians is aware that Nigerians are facing socio-economic challenges, including poverty, unemployment and underfunded education, poor health and dilapidated infrastructure which stifle our development which previous governments did not do much and this current administration too is not doing enough.
“After carefully reviewing the proposed tax reforms, in their current forms, we believe it would aggravate our existing challenges perhaps with only three states and FCT to benefit out of our collective difficulties,” It said.
It observed that the proposed reform would impact most parts of the country and the north in particulars in the light of what it noted as “refunding of important pivotal institutions like TETFUND, NITDA and NASENI.”
It therefore recommended that government should publish a comprehensive data to justify the proposed VAT derivation formula to enable the citizens to evaluate its fairness based on concrete numbers compared to the existing system.
“Transparency in this matter is non negotiable. If the data clearly demonstrates increased equity, it would bolster public trust in the reform. If such projections cannot be provided, it is prudent to maintain the current VAT revenue-sharing formula while implementing the proposed location-based collection system as the approach allows the government to evaluate the real impact of the new collection method, particularly on the current 20% derivation share,” it said.
CNG noted that agencies like TETFUND, NITDA and NASENI must be exempted from defending or restructuring.
“These institutions are pillars of Nigeria’s educational, technological and industrial progress; therefore undermining their financial base would derail critical national development objectives,” it noted.
