Northern Students Reject Tax Reform Bills

The Coalition of Northern Groups Students-Wing has rejected the proposed Tax Reform Bills in totality, saying they were designed to undermine the already paralysed educational sector.

In a statement by the national coordinator, Hassan Adamu, the group said the bill was designed to undermine existing educational institutions and ensure that anything good in the sector becomes history, which Nigerian students will vehemently resist.

It said the reform would deteriorate critical Institutions that support the country’s educational development. “We see the Tax Reform Bill as a deliberate attempt to attack our critical National Institutions that are responsible for basic infrastructure in Tertiary institutions, thereby ensuring that the institutions become mortuaries,” it said.

It said Tetfund’s contributions since its inception couldn’t be overemphasised, having played a pivotal role in financing research, physical infrastructure, staff training, and development. It claimed that TETFUND, funded through 3% of the Tertiary Education tax on companies’ annual accessible profit, would receive 50% of the levy by 2025.

In 2026, it will increase to 66%, and from 2027 to 2029, it will diminish to 3%, according to the proposed Tax Reform Bill.

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“TETFund will not have any allocation by 2023, which, by implication, will lead TETFund to extinction, a situation tantamount to degrading the Tertiary Education system in Nigeria,” it said.

“It is imperative to state that the Bill will favour NELFUND with its long-term negative consequences, which will increase access to student loans, trap our youth in bondage and possibly turn the institutions into revenue-generating agencies.

“NELFUND is funded by a 1% deduction from Taxes, levies, and duties collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). According to the new Tax Reform Bill, it will receive 25% of the levy in 2025 and 2026, 33% from 2027 to 2029, and 100% by 2030.

“The implication of this is that the proposed bill if passed, will divert funds to critical sectors such as infrastructure and innovation initiatives with a long-term impact on development. It shifts attention to student loans; this could also give a reason for public tertiary institutions to increase their tuition fees. It could also make our public tertiary institutions one revenue-generating entity, paving the way for the privatisation of our Tertiary institutions, making them inaccessible to the masses. This will also saddle our youth with an unsustainable debt burden.” it said.