Abuja has urged Nigerian youths to embrace President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform initiative which focuses on empowering, supporting and building a better economic future for them.

This was as the Senate and House of Representatives, yesterday, passed the tax reform bills transmitted to the National Assembly by Tinubu in October 2024.

At the green chamber, the bills were passed at a session presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Citizenship and Leadership, MsRinsola Abiola, spoke to the youngsters at a Youth and Tax town hall meeting organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Citizenship and Leadership (OSSAP-CL) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

In her welcome address, Abiola clarified that Nigeria’s proposed tax reforms were not just about revenue collection, but also about opportunity, empowerment and national inclusion.

Abiola, who maintained that the youths should take more than a passing interest in governance, emphasised that they were no longer the leaders of tomorrow but active participants in shaping economic policies today. She listed advocacy, innovation, entrepreneurship and policy engagement as key avenues through which youths can influence Nigeria’s tax landscape.

She added: “By fostering entrepreneurship and job creation, young people contribute to expanding the tax base and generating revenue for national development.”
PASSAGE of the tax reform bills followed the adoption of the harmonised versions by both the House and the Senate.

At plenary, yesterday, the House considered the report of the conference committee, which harmonised the bills.

Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Abiodun Faleke (APC, Lagos), who led the House team to the Conference Committee, presented the committee’s report to the House for consideration.

He stated that there were 45 areas of difference 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, adding that all grey areas were resolved ahead of the passage.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, who led the Senate’s delegation to The Conference Committee, Mohammed Sani Musa, presented the report, highlighting the collaborative efforts to improve the bills.

With legislative approval complete, the tax reform bills are now on their way to Tinubu’s desk, ready to become law to reshape Nigeria’s tax framework.