Lagos to Abuja: Cheers, Jeers for Nigeria’s Biggest Tax Rewrite in Decades
The Big Picture
New tax laws are finally on the books, but will they cure Nigeria’s multiple-taxation migraine or just switch the painkiller? That was the hot debate at this week’s Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) forum, the first major post-enactment huddle since President Bola Tinubu signed four reform Acts into law.
The Details
The quartet of statutes, the Nigeria Tax Act, Tax Administration Act, Revenue Service Act, and Joint Revenue Board Act 2025, promise to streamline filing, widen the digital tax net and slap a 15 percent minimum effective rate on large companies. “It’s a watershed moment,” declared Ayodele Subair, head of LIRS, at the event, according to The Guardian Nigeria. He said Lagos, which shells out more than 30 percent of the national GDP, must now show the country how digital tax systems should run.
Momentum is building in Abuja too. Former Speaker Yakubu Dogara called the overhaul “the most audacious” fiscal shake-up in decades during a parliamentary lecture, Voice of Nigeria reports. Dogara praised the consolidation of 16 statutes into four, but warned that transparency will decide whether the public buys in.
Yet the private sector remains wary. The Organised Private Sector (OPS) told ThisDay the laws “may not end multiple taxation” and could spook investors if state and local levies are not harmonised.
Why It Matters
The reaction was swift because businesses are already juggling inflation north of 20 percent. Wale Edun’s decision to suspend a controversial 4 percent import levy, meant to fund customs tech,was framed as damage control for rising prices, Ecofin Agency notes. Tax professionals warn that the success of the grand reform depends on whether similar “surprise” charges pop back up.
Around the Tax World
- Customs Levy on Ice: The Finance Ministry paused the 4 % Free-On-Board import tax after manufacturers cried foul (Ecofin Agency).
- FIRS & EFCC Team Up: Tax and anti-graft chiefs are running joint raids to boost compliance, ThisDay says.
- Leadway’s Masterclass: Over 500 SMEs tuned in as Taiwo Oyedele unpacked new reliefs and whistle-blower protections in a webinar, BusinessDay notes.
- Tragedy at Afriland Towers: FIRS is mourning four staff lost in a Lagos office fire.
Tax Stat of the Day
₦3.6 trillion, total inflows into the Federation Account in August, enabling a record ₦2.23 trillion FAAC payout to the three tiers of government (ThisDay).
Looking Ahead
All eyes are now on the freshly minted Tax Appeal Tribunal and Office of the Tax Ombud; their first test cases will show whether the new rules are more than shiny paperwork.
Prepared by MyTax - mytax.com.ng