Presidency Dismisses Claims of Discrepancies in New Tax Laws

The Presidency has rejected claims of discrepancies surrounding the newly signed tax reform laws, describing reports of inconsistencies between the versions passed by the National Assembly and those gazetted for public use as false.

Concerns had been raised by some political stakeholders, including a member of the House of Representatives, Abdulsamad Dasuki, who alleged that lawmakers’ legislative rights were violated because the content of the gazetted tax laws did not reflect what was debated and approved on the floor of the House.

However, speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, said the controversy was based on misinformation.

“Before you can say there is a difference between what was gazetted and what was passed, we must have what was passed. We don’t have that,” Oyedele said. “The official harmonised bills certified by the clerk, which the National Assembly sent to the President, are not available for public comparison. Only lawmakers can authoritatively say what they transmitted.”

He added that even he did not possess the certified harmonised version, noting that he only had access to the documents presented to President Bola Tinubu for assent.

Addressing concerns over Section 41(8), which reportedly required a 20 per cent deposit, Oyedele said he contacted the House of Representatives committee responsible for the provision and was informed that the committee had not met on the matter.

“I know that particular provision is not in the final gazette, but it appeared in a draft version,” he said. “Some people wrote a committee report before the committee even met, and that draft circulated widely in the media.”

Oyedele stressed that the document being circulated did not originate from the committee set up by the House of Representatives and urged the public to allow lawmakers to complete their investigation into the matter.

President Tinubu recently signed four tax reform bills into law, describing them as the most comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system in decades. The laws, which faced significant opposition from some lawmakers, particularly from northern states, are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.

The reforms include the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, all to be administered under a single authority, the Nigeria Revenue Service.

According to the Federal Government, the reforms are aimed at simplifying tax compliance, expanding the tax base, eliminating multiple taxation, and modernising revenue collection across federal, state and local governments.