Nigeria: Tax reform bill allows Sharia, customary laws to deal with section of inheritance, ACF urges NASS

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The mouthpiece of the North Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has submitted a report containing comprehensive set of observations and recommendations to the National Assembly, saying Sharia, customary laws should be given jurisdiction on religious matter of inheritance.

It equally called for the expunging of section 4(3) of the tax reform bill.

This was contained in a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad Bab, and made available to newsmen in Kaduna on Monday.

The group called for the retention of the current 7.5% rate Value Added Tax(VAT) in view of the economic challenges facing Nigerians and their businesses.

The statement also said VAT on all agricultural equipment should be expunged, saying, and the words “supply and supplies” in Chapter 6 (VAT), Part 1, Sections 143, 144, 145, and 147 of the Tax Administration Bill should be changed to “consumption or consumptions”.

Also, ACF contended that the term “derivation” needs to be clearly and unambiguously defined and its distribution should be based on consensus reached through consultation with states and local governments as well as the advice of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMFC)

“All small towns and major cities should have their streets named and houses numbered to make taxpayers easily traceable,” it stated.

It also called for the reduction of the powers attributed to the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors/Governance of the Joint Revenue Board as the proposed provisions amount to attributing and concentrating almost absolute powers of supervision and accountability to a single person.

It, therefore, suggested, “Six Executive Directors reflecting federal character must replace the proposed eight Coordinating Directors; the Executive Directors must be nominated by the President and confirmed by Senate;

ACF also called for the retention of TETFUND and NITD through re-couching Section 69 of the proposed Nigeria Tax Bill as a Development Levy to be shared with TETFUND, NITDA, NASENI, and the Education Loan Fund.

While calling for the replacement of the word “ecclesiastical” with “religious” throughout the Bills, ACF noted that “Section 4(3) of the Tax Bill should be expunged and the matter left to the jurisdiction of Sharia and customary laws.

“The Bills must allow for records of account and preparation of tax returns in local, and not just the English, languages,” it stressed.