The Senate and the House of Representatives will, in the next few days, meet to harmonise the tax reform bills passed by the two legislative chambers.
The Senate passed two of the four bills on Thursday, having passed the first two on Wednesday.
However, there were a number of discrepancies in the bills passed by the two chambers, which required harmonisation.
The Senate made far-reaching amendments to the version of the bills it passed, making them much different from the version of the bills passed by the House of Representatives on March 18.
The Senate passed the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill and the Nigeria Tax Bill on Thursday. It passed the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill and the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill on Wednesday.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, said the objective of the bills was to strengthen tax administration in the country.
Musa, who addressed journalists shortly after the plenary, said the bills, when passed into law, will align with best global practices.
The committee chairman said the reforms would increase Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which he said is far lower than what is obtained in South Africa, Kenya and other African countries.
A conference committee of the Senate was named on Thursday. Members will be meeting with their counterparts from the House of Representatives to harmonise the two versions of the bills before sending the final copy to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
