Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the presidential fiscal policy and tax reforms committee, on tax reforms, says the implementation of the tax reform laws will go ahead as scheduled on January 1, 2026.
Oyedele announced after meeting with President Bola Tinubu ahead of the new tax Act scheduled to take effect from January.
The committee, which paid a visit to Tinubu on Friday in Lagos, comprised Zacch Adedeji, chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Oyedele said the plan to commence the Nigerian Tax Act (NTA) and Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA) on January 1, 2026, will not be halted because the reforms are meant to benefit the people.
“Bottom 98 percent of workers will see either no PAYE taxes or lower taxes to be paid,” he said.
“Small businesses, 97 percent of them, will be exempted from corporate income tax, VAT, withholding taxes, and large businesses will see a drop in the taxes that they pay.
“The whole idea is to try and promote economic growth, inclusivity, as well as shared prosperity for our people, so we are actually excited about the progress we are making, and we are looking forward to January 1, 2026.”
The committee chairman further attributed potential revenue growth to economic expansion, citing increased tax compliance and fairness.
“We believe that over time you get revenue from growth when the economy is growing. People pay not because the tax rate has gone up, but because the base has increased,” he said.
“Number two is these reforms have rationalised a lot of wasteful incentives that are distortionary, which is, in itself, not helpful for the economy.
“And number three is we see, as a result of these transformative tax reforms, increasing awareness of tax culture and therefore improved compliance.
“So if people who were not paying before start paying, and they are not low-income earners, not only do you get more revenue, you get fairness for society.”
On Monday, Oyedele asked Nigerians to wait for the findings of lawmakers regarding the alleged discrepancies in the gazetted tax laws.
Earlier, the leadership of the senate and the house of representatives directed Kamoru Ogunlana, clerk to the national assembly, to work with relevant agencies in the executive branch in a bid to re-gazette the tax laws
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