Tax reform: January 1, best time for implementation to avoid adverse effects — Oyedele
Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Tax Policy and Fiscal Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele. Photo: State House
… 98 per cent of workers suffer multiple taxation if the laws were not enforced.
Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has warned that delaying the implementation of the new tax laws beyond January 1, 2026, could have severe consequences for workers and businesses across Nigeria.
His warning comes amid controversy over alleged discrepancies between the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions later gazetted.
The concern, raised last week by a House of Representatives member, Abdulsamad Dasuki, claimed that the gazetted laws did not reflect what was debated and approved on the floor of the House.
Reacting, civil society groups and politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have called for the suspension of the laws’ implementation.
But speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday, Oyedele said 98 per cent of workers would continue to face multiple taxation if the laws were not enforced.
“The implication of not implementing the new tax laws by January 1, 2026, is that the bottom 98 per cent of workers remain overtaxed,” he said.
Oyedele added that business owners would also miss out on exemptions promised in the new laws and continue paying multiple taxes.
“Businesses will miss out on exemptions and will continue to pay multiple taxes, creating large burdens.
“Minimum taxes continue to apply on low and small unprofitable businesses, while hidden VAT keeps the prices of basic consumables like food, healthcare, and education high,” he said.
Instead of calling for a suspension of the laws, Oyedele suggested that concerns should be addressed directly.
“Even if it is established that there have been substantial alterations to what the National Assembly passed, my view is to identify those provisions—they are not part of the law—then implement the law as passed by the NASS while addressing the issues as to how they got there in the first place,” he said.
He acknowledged that certain aspects of the version passed by the National Assembly would require amendments.
“Even my committee and I have noted areas where we need to go back through Mr President to request amendments to those laws because of issues with referencing and definition,” he explained.
Weighing in on the concern raised by Rep. Dasuki, Oyedele said: “Before you can say there is a difference between what was gazetted and what was passed, we have what has not been gazetted. We don’t have what was passed.
“The official harmonised bills certified by the clerk, which the National Assembly sent to the President, we don’t have a copy to compare. Only the lawmakers can say authoritatively what we sent.”
Oyedele also clarified a specific concern regarding Section 41(8), which reportedly required a 20 per cent deposit.
“I know that particular provision is not in the final gazette, but it was in the draft gazette. Some people decided to circulate the report before the committee had met,” he said, adding that the media reports “did not come from the committee set up by the House of Representatives.”
The four tax reform bills signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, described by the government as the most significant overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system in decades, are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.
The laws include the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, all operating under the Nigeria Revenue Service.
The reforms faced opposition from some northern lawmakers before passage, but are aimed at simplifying tax compliance, expanding the tax base, and modernising revenue collection.
