State governors endorse tax bills, reject VAT increase proposal

PUNCH

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has finally thrown its weight behind the tax reform bills submitted by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly.

The state governors made this known in a communique issued on Thursday at the end of a meeting with the Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, in Abuja.

In the communique signed by the NGF Chairman and Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the forum proposed an equitable sharing formula for Value-Added Tax.

The governors said the revised VAT sharing formula must ensure equitable distribution of resources of 50% based on equality, 30% based on derivation, and 20% based on population.

The communique read, “We, members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Presidential Tax Reform Committee, convened on the 16th of January 2025 to deliberate on critical national issues, including the reform of Nigeria’s fiscal policies and tax system