By Gift ChapiOdekina, Abuja

The House of Representative on Tuesday passed the tax reform bills for third reading.

The four bills are: the Nigeria tax bill, the Tax Administration bill, the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, and the Nigeria Revenue Service Bill.

The house had last week, considered and adopted the committee on finance’s report on the tax reform bills and subsequently approved the recommendations.

President Bola Tinubu transmitted the proposed legislation to the national assembly on October 3, 2024, urging lawmakers to pass the tax reform bills.

The bills initially faced opposition from the northern governors, who argued that the proposed laws could harm the region’s interests, asking the national assembly to reject the bills and demanding fair and equitable implementation across all regions.

However, in January, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) endorsed the bills after agreeing on an “equitable” VAT-sharing formula.

The parliament subsequently held a public hearing on the bills.