Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the National Assembly Harmonisation committees of both chambers will on Thursday pass four Bills on tax reforms in Nigeria.
TheNewsGuru.com, TNG exclusively reports this was revealed in a closed door session of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The harmonisation committees were inaugurated by the chairmen of Finance committees in the Senate wing.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, on Tuesday revealed that barring any last minute delays, the Tax Reform Bills currently under consideration at the National Assembly will be harmonised before the end of the week and thereafter, a final copy transmitted to the President for his assent.
Musa who is a Co-chair of the Conference Committee, dropped the hint while inaugurating the Senate and House of Representatives Conference Committee on the Nigeria Tax Reform Bill. He explained that the separate versions of the bills passed by both chambers have slight difference which the Conference Committee could harmonise under one day.
He said that the short meeting held shortly after the inauguraton was to enable members of the Conference Committee seg the modalities for the consideration of the members.
“The committee is hereby inaugurated. We are all aware of the assignment. These four bills are very important because the growth and sustenance of our economy depends on them. The economy depends on them. . However, whatever we are going to do must be done in the overall national interest. I believe that we can harmonise these bills in one day because the areas of difference are very small.
“We only need a conducive environment to consider these bills and ensure we harmonise and pass the bills early enough for Mr President to assent to them as we mark two years anniversary of this administration, ” he said.
Chairman of the House ov Representatives Commitee on Finance, Hon James Faleke who is also the Co-chair of the Conference Committee concurred witn the views of Musa but asked that the Secretariat of the Conference Commitee be given clear guidelines on how to pilot the affairs if the Commitee in order to work effectively, and achieve maximum results within the short time available to them.
Other members of the committee drawn from both chambers expressed their readiness to hit the ground running o the bills harmonisaton exercise.