How Nigeria's Joint Revenue Board (JRB) Completely Rewrote the Tax Coordination Playbook

So Nigeria decided to throw out decades of tax coordination history and start fresh. The old Joint Tax Board (JTB) that we've known since 2004? Gone. In its place, we now have the Joint Revenue Board (JRB), and honestly, calling it an "upgrade" might be an understatement. It's more like Nigeria took the old system, looked at everything that wasn't working, and decided to build something completely different.

I've been looking at both systems, and the differences are pretty striking. It's not just a name change or a few tweaks here and there. The new JRB represents a fundamental shift in how Nigeria thinks about tax coordination and administration.

The Old Guard: What the Joint Tax Board Actually Did

Let me start with what we had before. The Joint Tax Board was established under section 86 of the Personal Income Tax Act back in 2004, and its mission was pretty straightforward: "To promote and ensure uniformity, harmony and efficiency in Personal Income Tax Administration and provide advice on general tax matters in Nigeria."

Notice the key word there: Personal Income Tax. The old JTB was essentially focused on one type of tax, with some general advisory functions thrown in. Its main job was coordinating personal income tax administration across states and providing that unified Tax Identification Number (TIN) system that many of us became familiar with.

The old JTB's composition was relatively simple. You had:

• The Executive Chairman of FIRS as Chairman
• One member from each state (someone experienced in income tax matters)
• Co-opted members from various government bodies
• A Secretary appointed by the Federal Civil Service Commission
• A Legal Adviser (who was also FIRS's Legal Adviser)

Their functions, while important, were quite limited:

• Advising government on tax matters
• Resolving conflicts on tax jurisdiction among states
• Promoting uniformity in tax law application
• Providing advice on double taxation arrangements
• Approving pension and benefit schemes for tax purposes

Perhaps most telling about the old system was this line from their own documentation: "The official role of the JTB remains purely advisory." That pretty much sums up the limitations they faced.

Enter the New Era: What the JRB Brings to the Table

The new Joint Revenue Board, established under its own comprehensive Act in 2025, is a completely different beast. Where the old JTB was focused and limited, the new JRB is broad and empowered.

First, let's talk about scope. The JRB isn't just about personal income tax anymore. According to the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025, its objectives cover "harmonisation and coordination of revenue administration in Nigeria" (notice it doesn't say "personal income tax administration"). This includes all types of taxes, levies, charges, and revenues at all levels of government.

The composition is also much more comprehensive. The new JRB includes:

• The Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (not FIRS anymore) as Chairman
• Chairmen of ALL State Internal Revenue Services AND the FCT Internal Revenue Service
• Representatives from the Ministry of Finance, National Identity Management Commission, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Nigerian Immigration Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, and Nigeria Customs Service

That's significantly more stakeholders around the table, which I suppose reflects the broader mandate.

Powers: From Advisory to Operational

Here's where the difference becomes really clear. The old JTB could advise, recommend, and coordinate. The new JRB can actually do things.

Financial Powers: The old JTB operated on whatever budget was allocated to it. The new JRB can accept gifts, borrow money (with National Economic Council approval), and has its own fund with multiple revenue sources including membership fees, contributions, donations, and investment returns.

Operational Powers: While the old JTB was "purely advisory," the new JRB can:

• Maintain and integrate taxpayer databases
• Resolve disputes between tax authorities
• Collect, analyze, and publish tax revenue data
• Provide policy recommendations that carry more weight
• Employ and determine terms of employment for its staff
• Make regulations relating to staff conditions

Research and Analysis: The new JRB has explicit powers to "collaborate with tax authorities to undertake or support research" on tax fraud, evasion, and administration effectiveness. The old JTB could discuss these issues, but the new one can actually investigate and recommend solutions.

Functions: From Narrow to Comprehensive

The functional differences are probably the most telling comparison between the two systems.

Old JTB Functions (focused on personal income tax):

• Harmonizing personal income tax administration
• Issuing TINs
• Advising on double taxation
• Resolving jurisdictional conflicts between states
• Promoting uniformity in tax law application

New JRB Functions (comprehensive revenue administration):

• Integrating and maintaining databases of ALL taxpayers in Nigeria
• Resolving disputes between ALL tax authorities (not just on personal income tax)
• Advising on double taxation matters AND all taxation matters
• Maintaining platforms for revenue data collection and exchange
• Promoting harmonization of ALL taxes, levies, rates, and charges
• Publishing tax revenue collections by all authorities
• Publishing tax expenditure data (waivers, exemptions, incentives)
• Conducting impact analysis and capacity building recommendations
• Facilitating tax policy reforms

The scope expansion is pretty dramatic. Where the old JTB was like a coordinator for one type of tax, the new JRB is positioned as the central nervous system for all revenue administration in Nigeria.

New Institutions: What Didn't Exist Before

Perhaps the biggest difference is that the new system doesn't just replace the JTB, it adds completely new institutions that never existed before.

Tax Appeal Tribunal: The old system relied on existing court structures for tax disputes. The new system creates specialized Tax Appeal Tribunals with five-member panels specifically for tax matters. These tribunals have their own procedures, can handle different types of appeals, and are designed to be faster and more specialized than regular courts.

Office of the Tax Ombud: This is completely new. There was no taxpayer advocacy office under the old system. The Tax Ombud can receive complaints, investigate issues, make recommendations, and even institute legal proceedings on behalf of taxpayers. It's essentially a watchdog for taxpayer rights.

These additions suggest the new system recognizes that coordination isn't enough, you also need proper dispute resolution and taxpayer protection mechanisms.

Meeting Schedules: From Quarterly to As-Needed

Even the operational tempo is different. The old JTB met quarterly, which made sense for its limited mandate. The new JRB is required to meet "at least three times per year" but can meet more frequently as needed. Given its broader mandate and operational powers, this flexibility probably makes sense.

Accountability and Transparency

The accountability mechanisms are also quite different. The old JTB had basic reporting requirements, but the new JRB has comprehensive accountability provisions:

• Detailed financial reporting requirements
• Annual reports that must be submitted by specific dates
• Published quarterly reports from the Tax Ombud
• Conflict of interest disclosure requirements
• Penalties for unauthorized information disclosure
• Regular auditing by Auditor-General appointed auditors

Funding: From Budget Allocation to Self-Sustaining

The funding models are completely different too. The old JTB was funded through government appropriations like any other government body. The new JRB has multiple funding sources:

• Annual membership fees from member tax authorities
• Additional contributions for specific activities
• Donations and gifts (subject to conditions)
• Investment returns
• Revenue from services provided

This suggests the new system is designed to be more self-sustaining and less dependent on government budget allocations.

Technology and Modernization

While both systems dealt with taxpayer databases, the new JRB has much more explicit technology mandates. It's required to "maintain a platform for revenue data collection, integration, and exchange of information among the various tax authorities in Nigeria." This sounds like a much more sophisticated technological infrastructure than the old TIN system.

What This Means in Practice

So what does all this mean for someone trying to pay their taxes or understand how the system works?

Better Coordination: With broader representation and stronger powers, the JRB should theoretically be able to better coordinate between different tax authorities. No more situations where FIRS says one thing and your state tax authority says another.

More Transparency: The publication requirements for tax revenue collections and expenditures should give us much better visibility into how much tax is actually being collected and who's getting exemptions.

Better Dispute Resolution: The specialized tribunals and Tax Ombud should provide better options when tax issues arise, rather than having to go through regular courts or just accepting whatever the tax authority says.

Stronger Oversight: The new system has much stronger oversight and accountability mechanisms, which should reduce the chances of arbitrary or unfair treatment.

The Reality Check

Of course, there's always a gap between what looks good on paper and what actually happens in practice. The old JTB looked reasonable on paper too, but we still had plenty of complaints about multiple taxation, poor coordination, and conflicting tax demands.

What gives me some hope about the new system is that it seems to recognize the limitations of the old approach. Instead of just trying to coordinate better, it's actually giving the JRB the tools to enforce coordination. Instead of just hoping tax authorities will cooperate, it's creating mechanisms to make them cooperate.

But the real test will be implementation. Can all these different tax authorities actually work together effectively? Will the new powers be used properly? Will the dispute resolution mechanisms actually work faster and better than the old court system?

Bottom Line: Evolution vs Revolution

Comparing the old Joint Tax Board to the new Joint Revenue Board (JRB) isn't really a comparison of similar systems. It's more like comparing a bicycle to a car, they're both transportation, but they're designed for completely different purposes and capabilities.

The old JTB was a coordination body with limited scope and advisory powers. The new JRB is positioned as the central command center for Nigeria's entire revenue administration system, with operational powers, multiple funding sources, and comprehensive dispute resolution mechanisms.

Whether this represents progress will depend on execution, but at least on paper, Nigeria has replaced a limited, advisory body with a comprehensive, empowered institution that seems designed to address the real problems taxpayers have been complaining about for years.

The old system gave us decades of discussions about tax harmonization. The new system gives us the tools to actually achieve it. Now let's see if they'll use them effectively.