The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, has insisted that the January 1, 2026, commencement date for the Nigerian Tax Act and the Nigerian Tax Administration Act remains sacrosanct.

Mr. Oyedele stated this on Friday in Lagos while briefing journalists after a meeting with President Mr. Bola Tinubu.

“The plan to commence the new laws on January 1, 2026, will go ahead as scheduled because these reforms are designed to provide relief to the Nigerian people,” Mr. Oyedele said.

The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Zacchaeus Adedeji, and the Chairman of the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee, Mr. Joseph Tegbe.

According to Mr. Oyedele, the reforms will significantly reduce the tax burden on workers and businesses across the country.

“The bottom 98 per cent of workers will see either no Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax or lower taxes to be paid. Small businesses—97 per cent of them—will be exempted from Corporate Income Tax, Value Added Tax (VAT), and Withholding Tax, while large businesses will see a reduction in the taxes they pay,” he said.

He explained that the overarching objective of the reforms is to stimulate economic growth while ensuring inclusivity and shared prosperity.

“The whole idea is to promote economic growth, inclusivity, as well as shared prosperity for our people,” he added.

Mr. Oyedele also welcomed the stance of the National Assembly on allegations surrounding the alleged alteration of the tax laws, noting that the Federal Government was ready to work with lawmakers to address concerns raised by Nigerians, including opposition figures.

A member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Abdussamad Dasuki, had recently raised concerns over what he described as discrepancies between the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions subsequently gazetted and made available to the public.

Mr. Dasuki argued that his legislative rights had been violated, claiming that the content of the gazetted laws did not reflect what lawmakers debated and approved on the floor of the House.

“Before you can say there is a difference between what was gazetted and what was passed, we have what has not been gazetted. We don’t have what was passed,” he said.

“The official harmonised bills certified by the clerk, which the National Assembly sent to the President, we don’t have a copy to compare. Only the lawmakers can say authoritatively what we sent.

“It should be the House of Representatives or Senate version. It should be the harmonised version certified by the clerk. Even me, I cannot say that I have it. I only have what was presented to Mr. President to sign.”

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

The laws, which faced stiff opposition from some federal lawmakers from the northern part of the country before their passage, are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.

They include the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, all operating under a single authority, the Nigeria Revenue Service.