Speaking on a live television programme at the weekend, Oyedele recalled that a similar approach was attempted in the 1980s with sales tax, but the sub-national governments failed to generate significant revenue through it.
“By 1999, we were writing the constitution because we now have the 4th Republic. But what we did was to just replicate the 1979 Constitution,” Oyedele said.
“If we get a judgment from the Supreme Court today, it will tell you that VAT should be collected and administered by the states. That will be chaotic.
“States will collect less, businesses will suffer, the economy will retrogress.
“And that amount that is collected from international services and import VAT is not attributed to any state. It goes into the pool and is shared.
“We thought it was going to be very difficult for the federal government,” he said.
“Your VAT revenue can double in less than two years if they allow this reform to go through, because it would also motivate states to take interest in the economic activities within their jurisdiction,” he added.
He said the bills aim to stop approximately 60 federal agencies from collecting taxes, allowing them to focus on their primary mandates.
The committee chairman added that the new measures will simplify tax collection across the country and enhance the operational capacity of the agencies.
The bills include the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Tax Administration Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.