The planned implementation of the new tax laws from Thursday, January 1, 2026, will not be reversed, the federal government has emphasised.
This emphasis was made amid controversies over discrepancies in the harmonised and gazetted copies of the laws.
A lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, raised this alarm last week during plenary.
He said parts of the laws passed by the National Assembly were different from the gazetted, calling on the leadership to look into this.
In June 2025, President Bola Tinubu signed the four tax-related bills in law as part of his government’s reform programme
The new tax laws are the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, the Nigeria Tax Act, and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act.
Addressing newsmen after a meeting with Mr Tinubu in Lagos on Friday, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, stressed there were no plans to suspend the implementation of the laws from next Thursday, despite calls for this.
However, he welcomed the decision of the House of Representatives to investigate the matter, stressing that the federal government is ready to work with the National Assembly if any action becomes necessary, but maintained that the reform timeline remains unchanged.
Mr Oyedele explained that the reforms are aimed at providing relief to Nigerians and stimulating economic growth rather than generating immediate revenue, noting about 98 per cent of workers would either pay no personal income tax or pay less, while 97 per cent of small businesses would be exempted from corporate income tax and VAT withholding tax.
He added that large businesses would also benefit from lower effective tax rates, noting that the reforms are designed to promote inclusivity, shared prosperity and improved tax compliance.
The tax expert said preparations for the reforms began in October 2024 when the bills were first submitted to the National Assembly and have continued through capacity building, system upgrades and stakeholder sensitisation since the laws were signed in June 2025.