There seems to be a new development on the debate over the controversial Tax Reform Bills before the National Assembly.
A document in circulation has alleged that the framers of the tax reform bills are trying to usurp the powers of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
The document said the RMAFC is the institution with the constitutional mandate to produce formula for sharing revenues, including Value Added Tax (VAT), adding that any deviation from this constitutionally backed process is both inappropriate and unconstitutional.
The document was reportedly sent to the National Assembly as a memo, but this newspaper could not independently confirm if the Senate and the House of Representatives have indeed received the memo.
The document said RMAFC’s Chairman, Dr. Mohammed Bello Shehu, made the disclosure in a memorandum to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representative, Abbas Tajudeen.
A top government official also confirmed that a similar letter was received by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, expressing the same concern.
The memorandum is coming on the heels of the controversy that has trailed the proposed change in the VAT distribution model, to a derivation-based model, which would reduce the federal government’s share from 15% to 10%.
In the memo to the parliament, the RMAFC said: “The Constitution, being supreme, does not envisage that any other Act of Parliament such as the VAT Act could assume this responsibility.
“Any such attempt would contravene the Constitution. Therefore, the RMAFC remains the sole arbiter in producing allocation formula that is fair, just, and equitable for the three tiers of Government.
Any deviation from a formula crafted by the RMAFC risks violating constitutional provisions and undermining the Commission’s role as the impartial arbiter of revenue allocation in Nigeria”, it said.
Section 162 (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) empowers the RMAFC to determine the formula for the equitable sharing of revenue among the three tiers of government. Ensure that such formula reflects the principles of fairness and justice.
“The Constitution, therefore, made RMAFC the empire arbiter in matters of revenue allocation for the three tiers of government,” the document said.
It added that the memorandum outlines the Commission’s position, emphasising its constitutional mandate to ensure that VAT allocation adheres to the principles of fairness, justice, and equity, and highlighting why any arbitrary apportionment may be inappropriate and unconstitutional.
(Report from Daily Trust)
