The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has said that the ongoing alteration controversy will not stop the take off of the new tax law come January 1 2026.
Oyedele said the Federal Government will proceed with the implementation of the remaining two recently signed tax reforms.
Oyedele spoke to journalists after a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the President’s residence in Lagos, where he led a delegation that included the Chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS), Zacch Adedeji, and the Chairman of the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee, Joseph Tegbe.
He said: “So we met with Mr. President to give an update about the implementation of the Tax Reform Laws. As you’re already aware, there are four of those laws, and two of them have already commenced,” Oyedele said.
According to him, the Nigerian Revenue Service (Establishment) Act and the Joint Revenue Service (Establishment) Act took effect on June 26, 2025, while the remaining two, the Nigerian Tax Act and the Nigerian Tax Administration Act, are scheduled to commence on January 1, 2026.
“The remaining two laws, that’s the Nigerian Tax Act and the Nigerian Tax Administration Act, are scheduled to commence on the first of January 2026,” he stated, stressing that the timeline remains unchanged.
On the allegation of alteration, Oyedele said the Federal Government welcomed the recent position of the House of Representatives Committee on the allegations of alteration surrounding the laws, adding that the Executive remains open to legislative engagement where necessary.
“We welcome the statement by the National Assembly, House of Representatives’ committee today on the findings and the work around the allegations about alteration. The Federal Government is committed to working with the National Assembly, if and when any action is required,” he said.
He emphasised that the decision to proceed with implementation as planned was driven by the pro-people nature of the reforms, which are designed to reduce the tax burden on ordinary Nigerians and stimulate economic growth.
“Therefore the plan to commence 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.
He disclosed that under the new tax regime, the vast majority of workers and small businesses would benefit significantly, with lower or zero tax obligations.
“Bottom 98 per cent of workers will see either no PAYE 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 pay,” he explained.
Oyedele said the overarching objective of the reforms is to promote “economic growth, inclusivity, as well as shared prosperity,” adding that the reform team is optimistic about the January 2026 rollout.
“We’re actually excited about the progress we’re making, and we’re looking forward to January 1, 2026,” he said.
Responding to questions on the level of preparedness for implementation, Oyedele said planning had been extensive and deliberate, beginning from the moment the bills were transmitted to the National Assembly.
“As you know, the Tax Reform Bills were at the National Assembly for nine months; from October 2024 until June 2025, and for us, preparation started from day one,” he said, adding that the six months since presidential assent had been devoted to “capacity building, system upgrade and sensitisation.”
He described the reform as a continuous process rather than a one-off event.
“This kind of reform is work in progress. You never get to perfection; you get better as you go along. So we believe that we’re at a point already,” Oyedele noted.
He explained that the staggered commencement of the laws was intentional, allowing institutions created by the reforms to become operational ahead of full implementation.
“One of the reasons why two of the tax laws took effect about six months ago is so that those institutions can start getting ready. For example, you have the Office of the Tax Ombudsman. You can’t set up that office on day one and it begins to work on day one,” he said.
On expected revenue from the reforms, Oyedele clarified that immediate revenue generation was not the primary goal, arguing that sustainable revenue would come from economic expansion and improved compliance.
“The intention for this tax reform is not immediate revenue generation. We believe that over time, you get revenue from growth, when the economy is growing,” he said.
He added that by widening the tax base, eliminating wasteful incentives and improving tax culture, the reforms would deliver fairness and stronger public finances in the long run.
“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,” Oyedele said.
