The Federal Government has insisted that the implementation of the Nigeria Tax Act and the Tax Administration Act will commence on January 1, 2026, despite controversies surrounding alleged alterations in the gazetted versions of the laws.
Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, stated this on Friday after briefing President Bola Tinubu in Lagos.
“The plan to commence the new law, the two remaining new laws on the first of January 2026, will go ahead as planned, on schedule, because these reforms are designed to provide relief to the Nigerian people,” Oyedele said.
His comments came hours after the National Assembly ordered a re-gazetting of the four tax reform laws following public outcry over alleged discrepancies between the versions passed by lawmakers and those published in the Official Gazette.
Oyedele maintained that the reforms would ease the tax burden on most Nigerians.
“Bottom 98 per cent of workers will see either no pay tax or lower taxes to be paid.
“Small businesses, 97 per cent of them, will be exempted from corporate income tax, VAT, withholding tax, and large businesses will see a drop in the taxes that they paid,” he said.
According to him, the reforms are aimed at boosting economic growth and inclusion.
“We are trying to promote economic growth, inclusivity as well as shared prosperity for our people.
“So we are actually excited about the progress we’re making, and we’re looking forward to January 1, 2026,” Oyedele added.
Addressing concerns about preparedness, he said the government had been working on implementation for months.
“The tax reform bills were at the National Assembly for nine months, from October 2024 until June 2025, and preparation started from day one.
“Since the laws were signed, we’ve also had about six months of preparation, capacity building, system upgrade and sensitisation,” he said.
Oyedele described the reforms as a continuous process, noting, “You never get to perfection. You get better as you go along. So we believe that we are at a point already.”
He disclosed that two of the four laws, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Act and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Act, had already taken effect from June 26, 2025, to allow institutions prepare ahead of full implementation.
“You can’t set up that office on day one and expect it to work immediately,” he said.
On revenue expectations, Oyedele stressed that the reforms were not targeted at short-term revenue generation.
“The plan, the intention for this tax reform, is not immediate revenue generation.
“We believe that over time, you get revenue from growth,” he explained.
He added that revenue would grow through a wider tax base, removal of wasteful incentives and improved compliance.
“If people that were not paying before start paying, and they’re not low-income earners, not only do you get more revenue, you get fairness for society,” he said.
The insistence on the January 1 date comes amid allegations that some provisions in the gazetted tax laws were not approved by the National Assembly.
Earlier this month, a lawmaker, Abdussamad Dasuki, raised concerns that the published versions differed from what lawmakers passed, warning of legal and constitutional risks.
In response, the National Assembly on Friday directed its Clerk to re-gazette the laws and issue Certified True Copies of the versions passed by both chambers.
House spokesman Akin Rotimi said the directive was issued by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to ensure accuracy.
“This administrative step is intended solely to authenticate and accurately reflect the legislative decisions of the National Assembly,” Rotimi said.
An ad hoc committee chaired by Muktar Betara has also been set up to investigate the alleged alterations and review the entire process leading to the passage and gazetting of the laws.
