Minister of State for Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, has acknowledged the presence of errors in Nigeria’s newly introduced tax laws, revealing that a finance bill is being prepared to address the identified gaps.
Oyedele, who also chairs the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, disclosed while speaking at the 2026 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Legal Practice. The update was shared via the Committee’s official X handle on Friday.
He explained that the country’s ongoing tax reforms are anchored on principles of transparency, fairness, and clear policy direction, rather than arbitrary enforcement. According to him, consistency in policy implementation is critical to maintaining investor confidence.
Highlighting flaws in the previous system, Oyedele noted that individuals could pay an effective tax rate of about 19 per cent, while registering the same business as a company could raise the burden to over 40 per cent—an outcome he described as inconsistent with global best practices.
He also stressed the need for equitable taxation, pointing out that nearly half of Nigeria’s working population earns less than N70,000 monthly, making aggressive taxation unjust.
Addressing concerns about discrepancies in the legislative process, Oyedele attributed the errors in the new tax laws to manual processes and multiple stages of review. He assured that corrective steps are already underway through a proposed finance bill.
The development follows earlier concerns raised in December 2025 by Abdulsammad Dasuki, a member of the House of Representatives, who alleged differences between the gazetted versions of the tax laws and those passed by the National Assembly. According to him, the final documents contained material deviations from what was debated and approved by both chambers.
The disputed laws are part of a broader tax reform package signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in June 2025, with implementation commencing in January 2026.
Oyedele further outlined key features of the new framework, including the removal of minimum tax requirements for loss-making businesses, exemption of essential goods and services such as food, education, and healthcare from Value Added Tax (VAT), and the consolidation of multiple tax regulations into four principal legislations, including the Nigeria Tax Act and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act.
He added that the reforms are designed to protect low-income earners and small businesses, while fostering a more business-friendly environment and improving revenue generation beyond oil dependence.
The Federal Government had also introduced presumptive tax rules for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in March 2026 as part of broader efforts to strengthen tax compliance and administration.
