The National Assembly on Wednesday adopted the harmonised versions of the four landmark tax reform bills initiated by President Bola Tinubu, setting the stage for their transmission to the Presidency for assent.
The Senate passed the bills after considering the conference committee report presented by Senator Sani Musa, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and head of the Senate delegation on the committee.
The House of Representatives also adopted the harmonised versions during plenary, with the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, presiding.
The report was presented by Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Abiodun Faleke, who led the House delegation to the harmonisation exercise.
The bills are central to President Tinubu’s broader fiscal reform agenda, aimed at modernising Nigeria’s tax administration and improving revenue generation.
The four bills include the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill, 2025 (SB. 583); the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2025 (SB. 584); the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2025 (SB. 585); and the Nigeria Tax Bill, 2025 (SB. 586).
The conference committee, composed of members from both chambers, was constituted to reconcile differences in the versions of the bills passed separately by the Senate and the House.
Faleke disclosed via his X (formerly Twitter) account that the committee had concluded its work after intensive deliberations over several days.
He commended the Senate committee, led by Senator Musa, for its cooperation and diligence.
“We examined each clause strategically and resolved contentious issues. The bills are now ready for final presentation and passage,” Faleke wrote.
According to him, the committee resolved 45 differences in the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 12 in the Nigeria Revenue Service Bill, nine in the Joint Revenue Board Bill, and 46 in the Nigeria Tax Bill.
One key agreement reached by the committee is the imposition of a four per cent development levy on the assessable profit of all companies chargeable under Chapters 2 and 3, excluding small and non-resident companies.
This levy is to be collected by the Nigeria Revenue Service and paid into a designated account.
The distribution of the fund was agreed as follows: 50 per cent will go to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, 15 per cent to the Education Loan Fund—up from the initial 3 per cent proposed by the House— eight per cent to the Nigeria Information Technology Development Fund, eight per cent to the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure—reduced from an earlier agreed 10 per cent— four per cent to the National Board for Technology Incubation, 10 per cent to defence and security infrastructure, and five per cent to the cyber security fund.
Meanwhile, the Social Security Fund, Nigeria Police Trust Fund, and National Sports Development Fund were excluded from the list of beneficiaries
Additionally, the committee adopted a new Clause 158, introducing a five per cent surcharge on chargeable fossil fuel products provided or produced in Nigeria, to be collected at the point of transaction.
The controversial Value Added Tax sharing formula was not among the disputed clauses and was left unchanged.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, lauded the legislative accomplishment, saying the bills would “transform and modernise the tax system in Nigeria.”
In the House, Deputy Speaker, Kalu, praised the bipartisan effort and urged the executive to act swiftly.
“We have played our part. It is now up to the executive to do theirs,” he said.
However, Borno lawmaker Ahmed Jaha cautioned against any post-passage alterations during the bill-cleaning process, warning that tampering could prompt presidential rejection.