Today, President Bola Tinubu is expected to append his signature on the four tax bills that have been passed by the National Assembly.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement, yesterday, described the four bills as transformative steps that will transform Nigeria’s fiscal and revenue framework.
The four bills – Nigeria Tax Bill, Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill and Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill – were passed by the National Assembly after extensive consultations with various interest groups and stakeholders.
He explained that when the new tax laws become operational, they would significantly transform tax administration in the country, leading to increased revenue generation, improved business environment, and a boost in domestic and foreign investments.
He added: “The historic presidential assent to the bills at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, will be witnessed by the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Senate Majority Leader, House Majority Leader, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, and his House counterpart.”
Onanuga said the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, the Minister of Finance and Coordination Minister of the Economy, and the Attorney General of the Federation will also be at the signing ceremony.
He noted that one of the four bills, the Nigeria Tax Bill (Ease of Doing Business), aims to consolidate Nigeria’s fragmented tax laws into a harmonised statute.
By reducing the multiplicity of taxes and eliminating duplication, the bill will enhance the ease of doing business, reduce taxpayer compliance burdens, and create a more predictable fiscal environment.
The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill will establish a uniform legal and operational framework for tax administration across federal, state and local governments.
The Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, the third bill, repeals the current Federal Inland Revenue Service Act and creates a more autonomous and performance-driven national revenue agency – the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS). It defines the NRS’s expanded mandate, including non-tax revenue collection, and lays out transparency, accountability, and efficiency mechanisms.
The fourth, the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill, provides for a formal governance structure to facilitate cooperation between revenue authorities at all levels of government. It introduces essential oversight mechanisms, including establishing a Tax Appeal Tribunal and an Office of the Tax Ombudsman
