Taiwo Oyedele, the Chairman of the Tax Reform Committee, has addressed rumors suggesting that President Bola Tinubu intends to engage consultants for revenue collection on behalf of the Federal Government through the proposed Tax Reform Bills.
Gatekeepers News reports that during a recent Townhall on Tax Reform Bills hosted by Channels Television, Oyedele firmly refuted these claims when questioned about the President’s intentions, particularly in relation to his prior experience in Lagos State with Alpha Beta.
He clarified that there is no plan to empower a consultant for revenue collection in this context.
“The answer is no, in fact we had interesting debate at the committee level, and we wanted to put a language in the law that says no government should use a consultant to collect revenues, I think that is one of the biggest problems in our economy today,” Oyedele said.
“So, I can confirm to you 100 per cent, there is no plan whatsoever in using consultants to do any of these. The FIRS had a tax pro max that they had implemented, all that we need to do when we pas these bills, go to that system and amend the algorithm. So, we have the capacity already, we do not need consultants.”
The tax reform chair also debunked claims that the proposed reforms are seeking to scrap NASENI and TETFUND, saying there is no such proposals in the bills they submitted.
The proposed Tax Reform Bills have generated a lot of controversies since its introduction at the National Assembly. It has been met with serious resistant especially from the Northern part of the country.
Oyedele also dismissed claims that the governors were not consulted before the bills were forwarded to the National Assembly.
He said that the Committee consulted the governor but they said they want further consultations.
