National Interest’ll Guide NASS On Tax Reform –Agbese

Philip Agbese is a member of the House of Representatives representing Ado/ Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State. In this interview, he speaks on the Tax Reform Bills before the National Assembly, the sharing formula of the Value Added Tax (VAT) and the rejection of the bill by Northern Governors Forum, ANAYO EZUGWU writes

What do you make of the interaction with the leadership of the Tax and Fiscal Committee, led by Tawio Oyedele, and the pointed you made that some governors are blackmailing members of the House of Representatives, saying they will not get a second time ticket if they support President Tinubu?

Is your own governor threatening you? We had a very robust engagement in line with the legislative agenda of the 10th House of Representatives under the leadership of Hon. Tajudeen Abbas. The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, was there and the key driver of the presidential reform on the tax reform was also there.

Again, another angle to it is that the House of Representatives equally engaged its experts on tax issues. So, what we had was a robust engagement between the key drivers and our in-house experts who also shared their views with us.

This issue has brought some level of contentions in the sense that some political leaders across the country have expressed misgivings about it and so it was in the wisdom of the Speaker that we look at it holistically. Zacch Adedeji, Taiwo Oyedele and our in-house experts spoke at the event, and they equally subscribed to some of the lofty ideas shared in the views before us. I think as a matter of consensus, we go to a point where lawmakers express satisfaction with the interactive section.

And like Mr. Speaker has said, the House has not taken any decision as far as these views before the parliament are concerned. We are going to debate it on the floor of the House. But what we have done is to allow members to be able to criss-cross the content of the bill, generally for everyone to participate.

Before now, the leadership of the House had printed and distributed copies of the bill to every member of the House of Representatives for them to take a look at it. I think quite a lot was done before now. So, members asked questions and they were given satisfactory answers on the issue of attribution. Some states have been very concerned about attribution. The other one is the issue of distribution.

One of my colleagues raised the issue because from the explanation given to us by Adediji and what we have confirmed through from our internal experts is that just three states get about 70 per cent of the tax every month, Lagos, Rivers and the Federal Capital Territory {FCT}. They get over 70 per cent of what we generate as a country and the remaining states are left with the rest. So, by doing so, some states are going to lose a large chunk of what they used to get. This will now go back to other states.

So, from what we have seen so far, as one who communicates the mind, the spirit, the body and the soul of the parliament, I can tell you that members were very satisfied. Now, to the second question you asked, which is about the issue of the governors talking to us. Yes, of course, some governors have had meetings with caucus leaders before now.

But that is just by the way and we are politicians. So, of course, there are means of engaging members and all of that. It wasn’t a sort of threat where somebody points a gun at another person. But of course, as a parliament, we are looking at the national interest.

The leader of the Northern Caucus has said that members of the Northern Caucus are going to go into a smaller grouping to further dissect and follow the lead of what Mr Speaker has established that members should consult further. So that’s exactly what we are doing. So the issue of the governor is just, by the side, we are here as Nigerians to work for our people.

And the opinion, of course, as responsible politicians, the opinion of our leaders will always matter. We’ll consult them. Nevertheless, we are also here on our own as intellectuals, people who are also very sound, to look at issues the way we feel will benefit our constituents. And that’s exactly what we are doing.

Tax reform bills sent to the parliament by Mr. President were not about any region. It is a patriotic decision by Mr President to ensure that every Nigerian gets value from whatever they contribute to the national purse

How do you overcome the concerns that are being raised by the Northern governors and the traditional rulers on the bill?

Yes, that issue was also raised by parliamentarians from some of these geographical locations during the plenary. And our in-house experts and those from outside, having dissected the document before us, the four bills, gave a very reasonable answer to that.

To that extent, it was considered, it is in the spirit of the views before the parliament today, that within the window period, states that are not viable, states that are not generating or states that are not contributing as a result of one problem or the other, insecurity and so on, also there is a window, there’s something that is in the bill for them.

So, I don’t think it is anything for anyone to fear. The interactive session in line with the wisdom of the Speaker has done quite a lot to the questions that have been asked before now.

Today, like I said earlier, I communicate the spirit of the parliament to the public and I can categorically tell you that, yes, as of yesterday, before we left the parliament, many members from some of these regions who are scared have their questions answered. Even those from some other parts of the country that expressed fear before now, they’ve also been able to allay their fears that they won’t be losing so much. It’s just a question of parity.

I recall that Adedeji mentioned something that when he sees that out of the 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory, just about three or four states get away with 70 per cent of the total tax of the country every month, he feels very bad.

That statement was a very patriotic one in the sense that members now understood that the tax reform bills sent to the parliament by Mr. President were not about any region. It is a patriotic decision by Mr President to ensure that every Nigerian gets value from whatever they contribute to the national purse.

At the end of the day, we as a parliament, are equally concerned not just about the bills, but the implementation of the bill. I will give it to the 10th House of Representatives under the leadership of Hon. Abbas that when we pass bills and these bills become law, we equally follow up to ensure the implementation.

So, I think before now, some of our leaders who had expressed their opinion about this document did not do exactly what the 10th House of Representatives has done by engaging experts, engaging the promoters of the bill to come before them and further explain.

I believe that if our governors, if our traditional rulers, either from the North or the South, who all come together with a patriotic mind-set because one of the problems we have as a country today, which the 10th House of Representatives is dealing with, is also the issue of a trust deficit, in the sense that politicians don’t trust themselves, those from the North don’t trust those from the South and vice versa.

But within the 10th House of Representatives, what we are doing, we have eight political parties and we are dealing with bills that have to do with the country as a whole. So, first and foremost, patriotism is the keyword.

We follow the leader of the House, which is: What are the patriotic issues that have to be addressed? So, once it comes to passing bills before this 10th House of Representatives, the first thing we do is to drop your political affiliation, drop your ethnic affiliation, and wear a new garment, which is the garment of patriotism, as symbolized by the leadership of the House.

And when you deal with issues patriotically, you do exactly what we did by inviting experts, you know, who will come, talk to you, dissect the bills, tell you the pros and cons.

If we do that, you will agree with me that at the end of the day, we’ll be passing bills and legislation that will better the lot of this nation as a country, not our individual or regional interests.

Some items like alcohol bring about a lot of VAT and some of these states have constantly shown their disregard for alcohol because of religious inclinations. Is it fair for those states to share from the alcohol money?

For us in Agila where I come from, there’s this saying that the meat that you don’t eat, you don’t use your mouth to share it. In terms of morality, of course, we’ll say yes, that is right. But in the face of the constitution and the existing law on taxation, the law says share to with everybody.

But given the new law, of course, it is important and is one of the issues before now that some of us in our capacities as lawmakers who have been supporting the bill is the fact that, if there must be fairness, there must be justice. And justice requires that one should be given his own due.

So, the new tax reform bills before the parliament, as I have personally studied it in my capacity, is something that is going to bring about equity, is going to bring about fairness, is going to bring about justice.

Again, beyond the issue of alcohol and what we bring and what we distribute, the tax reform bills, from what we have read in this document intend to also address the issue of over-taxation.

Taiwo Oyedele explained the issue of over-taxation on commodities like food items, beverages and a couple of other issues. Again, when governments say an item is exempted from tax, there are still ways and manner that at the end of the day, these things are being taxed.

That is why, in his words, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria is excited about these tax reform bills. I think the apprehension is just coming from some political leaders who have not taken the time to study this document like the 10th House of Representatives has done.

If they do, they will fall in love with the document like many of us have done. It is a document that means well for the country. And if you also look at it, before now, states were very viable in terms of generating revenue, and creative ideas to also generate more money.

I used to remember that before now, the Benue State Government used to have a house in Lagos State that they were generating money from. We used to have the Benue Investment and Property Company in charge of investment.

Should the states that condemn drinking of alcohol still benefit from the alcohol VAT?

By the new tax law, it is about attribution and derivation. So, what you don’t eat, what you don’t drink, and what you don’t produce, what you don’t consume, will not generate VAT in your state.

So, if alcohol, by the new tax rule, is not taken to a certain state, that state will not have consumption, and there will be no VAT in that state. And what you do not contribute, or you do not consume, you can’t receive VAT from it.