Some governors against tax reform bills because it may deplete States’ IGRs- Deputy Senate President, Barau

The Deputy Senate President, Sen. Jubrin Barau, has disclosed that some of the governors are against the Tax Reform Bills because they fear it may deplete their Internally Generated Revenue (IGRs), saying the Bills would stop the taxing of the poor but the rich.

It would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu sent to the National Assembly Tax Reform Bills for legislation.

The Bills had generated controversy and faced intense pushback from the Northern governors and some federal lawmakers as they claimed the Bills were against Northern interest.

Meanwhile, Barau said the lawmakers who were against the Bills do not know contents of the it, stating “There is no well meaning Nigerian who will oppose these bills if the contents are well understood”.

Barau stated that President Tinubu sincerely meant well for the citizens, stating ” Some of the governors are against it because they fear it may deplete their IGR, as the bill will stop the taxing of the poor but the rich”

“Any NIgerian who earns less than N1million will not longer pay income tax

“So, what President Tinubu is pushing for is that you can’t be paying workers N30,000 or N70,000 as salary and you will still take away part of this meagre amount in the name of income tax. If you want them to pay tax, pay them bigger salaries so, you can tax them like it’s being done in some other countries.

“Meanwhile, the president has cover up the loss in income tax for the state government by increasing VAT going to states to 51%, while the federal government will only keep 10%. Meanwhile VAT on all commodities will now go to the state where these commodities are consumed”.