The two chambers of the National Assembly have passed into law a bill, which seeks the creation of the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Board.
The bill, among others, empowers the Federal Capital Territory Administration to establish its own Internal Revenue Board, which would have, among others, the legal powers to collect tax on property.
A harmonised report of the conference committee of the Senate and House of Representatives, which was seen by our reporter in Abuja on Thursday, also empowered the FCTA to establish its own Internal Revenue Service and Management Board.
Among other powers given to the board, are the powers to sue and be sued; control and administer different taxes within FCT, as well as account for such taxes.
The bill, which was sponsored by Chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT, Senator Smart Adeyemi, provides that the board shall be headed by a chairman appointed by the FCT minister subject to the approval of the National Assembly.
It will also have a deputy chairman, six representatives from different departments of FCT as well as six persons drawn from each of the six geo-political zones of the country, who are knowledgeable in tax matters.
Giving further insight into the on Thursday, Sen. Adeyemi noted it had been in the National Assembly since 1999, “facing obstacles and hurdles while political considerations made it difficult”.
He said, “The economic situation in the country now has prevailed over political considerations. The population in Abuja now is different from what it was once projected which has now made this new law imperative.
“The population we have in Abuja now demands upgrading of the infrastructure because allocation from the national budget is not enough.
“We’ve now put a revenue board to expand the revenue base of the FCT and also make sure there’s property tax in Abuja”.
The senator added that the harmonised version of the bill approved the collection of taxes by the FCTA based on the approval of the minister.