The Joint National Assembly Committee on Finance will on Tuesday hold a public hearing on the controversial Finance Bill which seeks to amend seven Acts of the nation’s parliament.

Finance experts, civil society groups and some federal lawmakers had openly condemned the bill, which among others would lead to an increase in Value Added Tax, Company Income Tax and other taxes.

But the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Solomon Adeola, in a statement on Sunday,  said contrary to popular sentiment about the bill, it was not only about increase in VAT.

Adeola said the bill was a composite legislation seeking amendment of seven Acts of the National Assembly with removal of taxes for some sectors in the economy.

He said a Public Hearing by the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Finance on the bill would hold Tuesday.

Adeola said the forum would enable stakeholders to bare their minds on the proposed legislation.

He said, “The bill is targeted at reforming our tax regime and will involve amendments of seven Acts of the Parliament namely; Petroleum Profit Tax, Custom and Excise Tariff Act, Company Income Tax Act, Personal Income Tax Act, Value Added Tax, Stamp Duties Act and Capital Gain Tax.

“Studying the executive bill that was referred to my committee after passing second reading on the floor of the senate, I realised that there are lot of ignorance and limited knowledge of the content and import of the Finance Bill.

“It is not only meant to increase revenue for the government but to also remove some conflicting and confusing aspects of our laws that had given rise to legal disputations in the past leading to huge loses of revenue for government.”