Senator Victor Umeh representing Anambra Central of Anambra State on the ticket of the Labour Party (LP), on Monday, allayed the fear being expressed in some quarters over the tax reforms bills pending before the National Assembly.
He opined that some of those reservations are based on the loss of public confidence in the system over the use of revenues accruing to government from sundry sources.
Umeh, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora Matters and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), spoke to journalists on Monday in Abuja.
He noted that reforms are important so that the government can bring about changes that would guarantee the growth of the economy and improve the life for the people.
Umeh said he had read the bills and did not discover any harmful portion in them, contrary to the insinuations in certain quarters.
“Globally, what people don’t like to do is pay tax. Nobody likes paying money. However, a system that works effectively would earn the confidence of its citizens to pay taxes.
“When you charge a tax that people are unwilling to pay and subsequently use force to collect it, it is not a good tax.
“Any tax collected by force is not a good tax. A good tax is one that people will willingly pay. Hence, it will be easy to administer, and the collection process will be straightforward.
“If they know that the money they are paying is used by the government to provide infrastructure and services, people will be more persuaded to pay tax. But in the current state of Nigeria, we find ourselves in a situation where the Nigerian people have lost faith in governance.
“So, any action that is geared towards taxing citizens will receive immediate rejection. And that is what we are witnessing with the tax bills.
“People have not been able to read the bills. They have continued to rely on social media posts to condemn the proposed tax reforms.
“I have read the tax reform bills, and I can tell you that as much as we will be conducting consultations, I have not seen anything in the bills that is particularly harmful and should warrant total rejection.
“What we need to do is explain and ensure that people understand the purpose and intent of the bills. Therefore, the government has a great deal of work to do to market its objectives to the Nigerian people and undertake actions that will promote confidence among Nigerians.
“The drivers of the government should be able to show that they are ready to be like ordinary people. So that when you ask Nigerians to pay money, they will know that they are not paying this money for you to buy luxuries for yourself and your family,” Umeh stated.
He said most of the sentiments trailing the bills were misplaced, stressing that there was no cause for alarm.
“If you subject the tax reform bills to critical analysis, you will see that most of the resentment and outcry is misplaced. I have studied the bills, and I don’t believe there should be any cause for alarm.
“Most of the objections raised against the bills are unfounded. People assumed that there was an intention to make Lagos and Ogun states take all the money that would accrue from VAT.
“They felt that because the headquarters of all the big corporations and companies are registered in Lagos, any tax they collect would go to Lagos State. This is not true.
“People have demonstrated ignorance of such a position on social media. However, if you take the time to study the bills, you will see that this is not accurate.
But, Umeh submitted, “The citizens have the right to reject any good law. You can have a good bill, yet the citizens can reject it. Once they reject it, the bill is gone. That is why the government has a substantial marketing effort to make in order to convince the Nigerian people because lawmaking involves citizens’ participation.
“The bills will go through public hearing, and the preponderant opinion of Nigerians will prevail. If they declare that they don’t want the tax bill, we cannot proceed to pass the bill. Thus, the government has a great deal of work to do.”
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