*The Nigerian Senate passes remaining two of the four Tax Reforms Bills, earlier proposed and submitted the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

The Nigerian Senate, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in the National Assembly (NASS), Abuja, FCT, passed the two remaining of the four Tax Reforms Bills, earlier proposed and submitted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

绿帽献妻 reports the two remaining bills – the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill and the Tax Administration Bill – the Senate passed earlier were the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024 and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.

The Upper Legislative Chamber Thursday considered the two outstanding tax bills after the Senators had debated them in the Committee of the Whole.

Value-Added Tax retains current 7.5 percent

Speaking on the development, Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the passage of the two bills after a majority of the Senators supported it through a voice vote.

It is noted that with the passage of the two remaining bills, the Senate has successfully passed Tinubu administration’s four Tax Reforms Bills.

Initially, Section 146 of the Nigeria Tax Bill proposed a gradual increase of Value-Added Tax (VAT) from the current 7.5 percent to 12.5 percent through 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029, while by 2030, the VAT will be raised to 15 percent.

Hitherto, certain stakeholders, including the Trade Union Congress (TUC), had raised objections to the proposal during public hearings.

The Committee, thereafter, reviewed the section and recommended that VAT should be charged at a rate of 7.5 percent.

Recommendations on TETFUND, NITDA and NASENI

Besides, the new bill also proposed a gradual reduction in statutory funding for agencies such as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), according to report.

TETFund is primarily funded through a 2 percent education tax on the assessable profits of registered companies in Nigeria.

This funding supports the development of tertiary education by providing financial assistance to institutions for infrastructure, research, and faculty training.

NASENI, on the other hand, plays a vital role in scientific research, technological advancements and driving innovation across sectors.

Likewise, NITDA is central to Nigeria鈥檚 digital transformation, innovation, and supporting ICT growth, capacity building, and technological infrastructure development.

All the agencies are now to share the 2 percent profits of companies that used to be for TETFUND. The committee recommended 50 percent of the statutory funding for TETFUND, 15 percent for NELFUND, 10 percent for NITDA, 10 per cent for NASENI, 5 percent for cybersecurity and XDA10 per cent for defence security.

Earlier, based on their significance, unions like the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had opposed the reduction of their funding during public hearings.

The committee reviewed the bill鈥檚 proposal and recommended that the statutory funding of the agencies should be retained as demanded by the stakeholders.

The Senate also recommended that there should be statutory funding for agencies, such as. the National Cybersecurity and Defence Security.

All the agencies are now to share the 2 percent profits of companies that used to be for TETFUND. The committee recommended 50 percent of the statutory funding for TETFUND, 15 percent for NELFUND, 10 percent for NITDA, 10 percent for NASENI, 5 percent for cybersecurity and XDA10 percent for defence security.

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