Presidency clarifies alleged discrepancies in tax laws

The Presidency has dismissed claims of discrepancies between the tax reform bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions subsequently gazetted, describing reports of altered provisions as false and misleading.

The clarification comes amid growing controversy over the new tax laws scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, and several civil society organisations calling for their suspension.

A member of the House of Representatives, Abdulsamad Dasuki, had earlier raised concerns over what he described as inconsistencies between the bills debated and passed by lawmakers and the versions made public, arguing that his legislative rights had been violated.

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However, speaking on Morning Brief, a programme on Channels Television, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, said there was no evidence to support the allegations.

“Before you can say there is a difference between what was gazetted and what was passed, we need to have what was passed. What has been circulating has not been gazetted, and we do not have the certified harmonised version for comparison,” Oyedele said.

He explained that the official harmonised bills, certified by the Clerk of the National Assembly and transmitted to the President for assent, were not publicly available.

“Only the lawmakers can say authoritatively what they sent. Even I do not have the harmonised version; I only have what was presented to Mr President to sign,” he added.

Oyedele referenced concerns surrounding Section 41(8) of the proposed law, which reportedly required a 20 per cent tax deposit, noting that he had contacted the relevant House committee for clarification.

“I know that particular provision is not in the final gazette, but it was in an early draft. Some people wrote and circulated a committee report before the committee had even met,” he said.

He stressed that the document circulating in the media did not originate from the official committee set up by the House of Representatives, urging stakeholders to allow lawmakers to complete their investigation.

President Bola Tinubu recently signed four tax reform bills into law, marking what the Federal Government described as the most comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system in decades.

The laws include the Nigeria Tax Act, Nigeria Tax Administration Act, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act**, and Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, all to operate under a unified authority—the Nigeria Revenue Service.

Although the bills faced strong opposition from some federal lawmakers, particularly from the North, the government maintains that the reforms are aimed at simplifying tax compliance, expanding the tax base, eliminating multiple taxation, and modernising revenue collection across federal, state, and local governments.

The new tax laws are expected to take effect from January 1, 2026.