The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the National Assembly to assess the impacts of Nigeria’s tax reform bills, currently before the lawmakers, on Nigerians’ human rights and welfare.
SERAP, which made the demand in an open letter addressed to the Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, stated that its preliminary review of the bills indicates that certain provisions may be contrary to human rights and the rule of law.
In a letter dated December 7, 2024, signed by its deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation also said that any discussion and consideration of the tax reform bills must fully comply with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the country’s international human rights obligations and commitments.
It insists that the assessments should be transparent, include public participation, influence the provisions and measures that are ultimately enacted, and that the outcomes of the assessments should be widely published.
SERAP further urged Akpabio and Abbas to pass a resolution directing the attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to hold Nigeria’s state governors accountable for spending trillions of naira in revenue derived from taxes, including VAT, collected by their states since 2015 and ensure the recovery of any proceeds from corruption.
The organisation calls for the inclusion of transparency and accountability mechanisms in the tax reform bills to ensure that any revenue derived from them is not mismanaged, misappropriated, or pocketed by politicians, their family members, and close associates.
While noting that Nigerian authorities can develop appropriate taxation laws, SERAP cautioned that the 1999 Nigerian Constitution and human rights and anti-corruption treaties limit this discretion.
It stated that, for instance, section 28(2)(c) of the Tax Administration Bill requires financial institutions, including banks, to provide tax authorities with customer details, such as names and addresses, and section 28(4) mandates that financial institutions disclose “additional information” about their customers if requested in a notice signed by the chief executive officer of the relevant tax authority.
SERAP warned that terms like “any other information” and “additional disclosure” could be misused to restrict customers’ privacy rights unjustifiably and that the bills lack sufficient safeguards to prevent abuse of access to customers’ data, which could lead to misuse by public authorities.
The organisation said another concerning provision is section 57 of the Tax Administration Bill, which grants extensive and intrusive powers to tax authorities that could violate human rights. Specifically, section 57(1) allows authorised officers of the relevant tax authority free access to all lands, buildings, places, and documents in the custody or control of individuals or institutions for tax inspection purposes.
“Under subsection 2, the relevant tax authority is permitted to take immediate possession of any removable media and associated equipment to prevent the accidental or intentional destruction, removal, or alteration of records.
“Section 57(5) raises additional concerns by establishing that any judicial authorisation for tax officials to enter private dwellings will remain valid for three months or a lesser period deemed appropriate by the judicial officer. Furthermore, subsection six states that tax officials must present evidence of their written authorisation and identity upon entering a private dwelling. However, they are not required to do so again unless they consider it reasonable.
“These provisions are broadly worded and could be misused, posing significant risks to the human rights of Nigerians. Moreover, they lack special safeguards, raising concerns about the arbitrary exercise of the extensive powers granted to tax authorities,” SERAP stated.