The Lead Story
IMF gives a thumbs-up, but warns of a slow payout
Nigeria’s sweeping 2025 tax reforms just secured an important seal of approval from Washington. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the package will “strengthen compliance and broaden the base,” yet it cautioned that the fiscal windfall may arrive "with a lag," Premium Times Nigeria reports.
So what’s inside this overhaul? Four separate bills—signed in late June—wipe away 12 outdated statutes and tweak 15 more, forming the backbone of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and the companion Tax Administration Act 2025. Deloitte’s new explainer calls it nothing less than “a pivot from Windows 98 to Windows 11 overnight,” Proshare writes.
Under the headline measures, wages, essential goods, and job-loss compensation get fresh exemptions. Small businesses see lighter withholding rates, while larger firms can tap beefier input-tax credits—if they hit tougher compliance tests. The Nigerian Economic Summit Group adds that a re-tooled VAT regime and full-throttle digital filing are meant to “tax the fruits, not the seed,” (Proshare).
The reaction was swift. Policy buffs cheered the IMF’s nod, but many echoed its caveat: bulkier receipts may take years as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) builds capacity and nudges Nigeria’s vast informal sector into the net. Deloitte summed it up neatly: “Law alone doesn’t collect tax; administration does.”
Around the Tax World
• WHO turns up the sugar heat. The UN health body wants Nigeria to hike taxes on sugary drinks, alcohol, and tobacco by 50 percent over the next decade, saying it could avert 50 million premature deaths (The Guardian Nigeria).
• Edo’s half-year haul. Edo State Internal Revenue Service banked ₦52.6 billion in the first six months of 2025—already 12 percent above last year’s pace (THISDAYLIVE).
• FIRS hits the road. Ahead of its July 15–16 Tax Clinic in Lagos, FIRS says the outreach will bring registration desks, dispute-resolution booths, and on-site filing help to small businesses nationwide (ThePointNG).
• Public-trust push. Business Hallmark notes that professional bodies from CITN to the CAC will flank FIRS at the clinic, underscoring a whole-of-government bid to make paying tax feel less like pulling teeth (Business Hallmark).
By the Numbers
Prime Number: ₦52.6 billion — what Edo State raked in between January and June, powered by new digital payment channels (THISDAYLIVE).
Looking Ahead
All eyes now turn to Lagos: the inaugural FIRS Tax Clinic opens in less than two weeks, a real-time stress test of whether Nigeria’s shiny new laws can translate into on-the-ground compliance.
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Prepared by MyTax - mytax.com.ng*
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