The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, on Thursday said Nigeria’s revenue challenge is not about increasing tax rates but expanding the country’s tax net, stressing that what the nation needs is more taxpayers rather than higher taxes.
Oyedele made the remarks in Abuja while receiving the leadership of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) during a courtesy visit to the Federal Ministry of Finance, following the Institute’s maiden National Tax Awareness Day. The campaign featured a road walk, taxpayer sensitisation at Wuse Market, and a visit to the headquarters of the Nigerian Revenue Service.
The awareness drive also marked one year since President Bola Tinubu signed Nigeria’s landmark tax reform legislation into law on June 26, 2025, a package widely described as a major overhaul of the country’s tax framework.
According to Oyedele, Nigeria’s biggest challenge remains public misunderstanding of taxation, which continues to affect compliance levels. He said many citizens still assume that government tax discussions automatically translate into higher taxation, a perception he described as inaccurate.
READ RELATED STORY
Taiwo Oyedele pledges to sustain economic reforms as finance minister
Oyedele denies admitting errors in tax laws
“We are still not getting enough revenue from taxes; it is not about increasing taxes, but making sure that those who are supposed to pay taxes pay. We want to promote fairness in tax administration,” he said.
The minister added that a properly functioning tax system would significantly boost national development outcomes. He also encouraged the CITN to introduce annual awards recognising the most compliant taxpayers as a way of promoting voluntary tax compliance and strengthening trust in the system.
Earlier, the National Tax Awareness Day campaign began at Wuse Market, where CITN President, Innocent Ohagwa, explained that the initiative was designed to close information gaps surrounding recent tax reforms and improve voluntary compliance among Nigerians.
Ohagwa said that although the reforms had been in place for one year, many taxpayers still struggle to understand what has changed and how the new framework affects businesses and individuals. He noted that misconceptions persist, including the belief that the reforms introduce multiple new taxes across all sectors.
He, however, highlighted that the reforms contain several reliefs and incentives. These include rent relief of up to 20 per cent of annual rent (capped at N500,000), zero-rated VAT on essential goods and services such as food, education, healthcare, electricity transmission, and non-oil exports, as well as higher tax exemptions for compensation related to job loss or personal injury.
For small businesses, Ohagwa explained that companies with annual turnover not exceeding N100 million and fixed assets not above N250 million are now exempt from Companies Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, and the Development Levy. He added that targeted incentives also exist for sectors such as agriculture, aquaculture, dairy production, cocoa processing, and animal feed manufacturing.
Despite these incentives, he stressed that tax compliance remains a legal obligation and a civic responsibility, noting that taxation functions best where there is trust between taxpayers and government institutions.
“Compliance is not a burden; it is a civic duty. Taxation works best when there is trust — taxpayers must fulfil their obligations, while government must ensure accountability and transparency,” he said.
The campaign later moved to the headquarters of the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS), where officials reaffirmed their commitment to improving tax administration through digital systems such as Rev360 and other technology-driven platforms aimed at enhancing efficiency and transparency.
Representing the Executive Chairman of the NRS, Dr Zacch Adedeji, Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Services, Mohammed Abubakar, said the reforms marked the beginning of a new era in tax administration focused on fairness, simplicity, and service delivery.
He added that sustainable revenue generation depends not only on enforcement but also on public awareness and confidence in tax institutions. According to him, taxpayers are more likely to comply when they understand their obligations and trust how public funds are managed.
Also speaking, Group Director of the Medium Tax Group, Gbenga Daniel, reaffirmed the agency’s collaboration with professional bodies like CITN to strengthen taxpayer education and voluntary compliance.
The event brought together tax professionals, government officials, and stakeholders across the sector, reinforcing ongoing efforts to deepen public understanding of Nigeria’s evolving tax system and encourage broader participation in national revenue generation efforts.
In June 2025, President Bola Tinubu signed four major tax reform bills into law, including the Nigeria Tax Act, aimed at modernising and consolidating decades-old tax statutes into a more streamlined framework for economic growth.
