The Minister of State for Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, has acknowledged that errors exist in Nigeria’s newly enacted tax laws, disclosing that a corrective finance bill is being proposed to address identified discrepancies.
Oyedele, who also serves as Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, made the disclosure while speaking at the 2026 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Legal Practice. His remarks were later shared in a statement posted on the Committee’s official X handle on Friday.
Addressing concerns surrounding discrepancies in the law-making process, Oyedele explained that the errors arose from manual processes and the multiple stages of legislative review. He assured stakeholders that steps were already being taken to rectify the gaps through a proposed finance bill.
The admission follows concerns earlier raised in December 2025 by Hon. Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), a member of the House of Representatives, who alleged material differences between the gazetted copies of the tax reform laws and the versions debated, harmonised, and approved by both chambers of the National Assembly.
The disputed laws are part of a broad tax reform package recently passed by the National Assembly and signed into law, with implementation scheduled to commence in January 2026.
Oyedele emphasised that the reforms were designed around transparency, fairness, and clear policy intent rather than arbitrary enforcement. He stressed the importance of consistency in tax administration to foster investor confidence.
“If policies can change overnight, it sends the wrong signal to investors. Consistency is critical,” he stated.
Highlighting structural imbalances under the previous tax regime, Oyedele noted that individuals operating informal businesses sometimes paid lower effective tax rates than incorporated entities.
“Under the old system, an individual could pay an effective tax rate of about 19 per cent, but registering the same business as a company pushed the burden above 40 per cent. This was the opposite of global best practice,” he said.
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He further cautioned against aggressive taxation of low-income earners, revealing that nearly half of working Nigerians earn less than N70,000 monthly.
“Taxing them aggressively would be unjust,” he added.
Oyedele outlined several major components of the new tax architecture aimed at promoting equity and improving compliance:
Elimination of minimum tax requirements for loss-making businesses to prevent taxation of capital rather than profit.
Exemption of essential goods and services — including food, education, and healthcare — from Value Added Tax (VAT).
Consolidation of multiple tax statutes into four principal legislations, including the Nigeria Tax Act and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act.
Protection for low-income earners and millions of small businesses with limited tax-paying capacity.
The reforms are intended to create a more equitable, predictable, and business-friendly tax environment while strengthening revenue mobilisation.
In June 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed four major tax reform laws aimed at improving tax administration, enhancing compliance, and reducing Nigeria’s reliance on oil revenues.
Further efforts to expand the tax net were introduced in March 2026 when the Federal Government rolled out presumptive tax rules targeting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
With the proposed finance bill now in view, stakeholders will be watching closely to see how swiftly the government addresses the identified legislative inconsistencies ahead of full implementation.