Nigeria Launches Six-Week Review of 2025 Tax Reforms

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele inaugurated the Technical Subcommittee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms in Abuja to conduct a six-week review of Nigeria's 2025 tax laws. The laws, which took effect on January 1, 2026, have faced implementation gaps and ambiguities, including a dispute between the Nigeria Revenue Service and private sector groups over whether repealed laws or the new framework govern obligations for periods ending before 2026.

Chaired by Permanent Secretary Raymond Omachi and co-chaired by Albert Folorunsho, the subcommittee is tasked with reviewing Value Added Tax thresholds, withholding tax, capital gains treatment, and the elimination of multiple taxation. The panel is integrating over 134 public memoranda calling for simplified compliance and safeguards for small businesses. Its findings will inform the Finance Bill 2027, as well as revised Withholding Tax Regulations and the Significant Economic Presence Order.

While the government focuses on fiscal refinement, the Ministry of Finance faced protests from civil society organizations, including ActionAid Nigeria. Demonstrators demanded an end to excessive borrowing from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, arguing that rising public debt undermines essential services and the future of Nigerian youth.