The Joint Revenue Board has said Nigeria’s tax reform has reduced the burden on low-income earners and eliminated multiple nuisance taxes.
The Executive Secretary of the JRB, Olusegun Adesokan, stated this while giving an overview of the progress recorded one year into the implementation of the tax reform.
In a post obtained from the board’s X handle on Friday, Adesokan spoke at the 160th meeting of the JRB in Kaduna State, with the theme, “One Year of Reform: Assessing Progress and Addressing Challenges.”
He said the reform had also provided relief for low-income earners and micro-scale businesses, contrary to concerns that it had increased the tax burden.
“Addressing the misconception that the tax reform has increased taxes, the reform has rather reduced the tax burden on low-income earners, eliminated multiple nuisance taxes while providing reliefs for low-income earners and micro-scale businesses,” he said.
Adesokan said 18 state Houses of Assembly had domesticated the model harmonised taxes and levies law, which was designed to address overlapping and multiple taxation across the country.
According to him, the legislation had reduced more than 50 collection items previously administered by states and local government areas to nine sub-heads.
He added that the law had also abolished cash collection and the mounting of roadblocks for revenue collection.
The Executive Secretary said the measures had recorded significant progress in harmonising taxes and levies across the subnational governments.
The JRB, Nigeria’s apex body for revenue administration, convened the meeting to assess progress under the new revenue regime, identify gaps, and address emerging challenges.
The meeting was declared open by the Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, who said the reform had expanded opportunities for domestic resource mobilisation and strengthened the country’s capacity to finance development.
Sani urged the JRB to identify bottlenecks affecting revenue collection, institutional weaknesses creating friction between revenue authorities and taxpayers, and opportunities for technology to improve efficiency in revenue administration.
He said, “The objective of the reform should not be simply to collect revenue; it should be to build a tax system in which compliance becomes easier, enforcement becomes more intelligent and voluntary compliance becomes a norm.”
The Executive Secretary appreciated Governor Uba Sani for hosting the 160th JRB meeting and for his consistent support of the tax reform initiative. He particularly commended the governor for nominating a member of the Board and outgoing Executive Chairman of Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service, Mr Jerry Adams, as his running mate for the 2027 gubernatorial election.
Sani expressed his delight with the tax reform, stressing that apart from eliminating duplication of taxation, it has enhanced revenue generation.
He observed that the national tax revenue has so far risen to N21.6 trillion since President Bola Tinubu introduced tax reform in 2026.
According to him, the nation’s revenue was approximately ₦10.1 trillion in 2023, ₦21.6 trillion in 2024, and about ₦36.8 trillion in 2025.
In his opening remarks, JRB Chairman, Dr Zacch Adedeji, represented by the Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Services, Nigeria Revenue Service, Muhammad Abubakar, said the meeting was a call for revenue authorities to take stock of the progress made, address identified gaps and confront emerging challenges.
He said the ultimate measure of the reform’s success must be improved revenue mobilisation, greater compliance, a better taxpayer experience, and stronger contributions to national development.
Source: punchng.com
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