Oyedele Admits Errors In New Tax Reforms, Says Corrections Underway

The Minister of State for Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, has admitted to errors in Nigeria’s new tax reform laws, assuring that steps are already underway to address the identified issues.

Oyedele spoke while addressing concerns over reported discrepancies in the laws during a fireside chat at the 2026 annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Legal Practice, themed ‘From Policy to Practice: Making Sense of Nigeria’s New Tax Reforms’, according to a statement from the fiscal reforms committee.

The concerns followed claims made on December 17, 2025, by Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the House of Representatives from Sokoto, who alleged that the gazetted tax laws available to Nigerians differ from those passed by the National Assembly.

In response to the allegation, the House constituted a seven-member panel to investigate the discrepancies, while Oyedele had earlier urged Nigerians to await the outcome of the lawmakers’ findings.

In a social media post on Friday, the fiscal reforms committee said the minister acknowledged “that errors occurred due to manual processes and multiple stages of review” in the law-making process.

He, however, noted that corrective measures are being implemented through a proposed finance bill.

“What we need is a more transparent and reliable legislative process where every version of a law is publicly available,” Oyedele said.

He assured that enforcement of the new tax laws would not be arbitrary, stressing that the reforms are anchored on clear policy intent, transparency, and fairness.

Oyedele also emphasised the need to understand the rationale behind tax laws rather than focusing solely on their provisions, adding that policy intent should guide both interpretation and implementation.

Highlighting past challenges, the minister pointed to inconsistencies in Nigeria’s previous tax regime, particularly disparities between personal and corporate tax burdens, which he said discouraged business formalisation.

He explained that the new reforms are designed to incentivise formalisation, ensure policy consistency, and reduce discretion in tax administration.

Reflecting further, Oyedele said abrupt policy shifts—such as proposals to increase taxes on gas companies—had previously discouraged foreign investment.

“If policies can change overnight, it sends the wrong signal to investors. Consistency is critical,” he said.

On inclusivity, he stressed that the new tax framework protects low-income earners and small businesses, noting their limited capacity to bear tax burdens.

“Nearly half of working Nigerians earn less than N70,000 monthly. Taxing them aggressively would be unjust,” he said.

Oyedele added that the reforms eliminate minimum tax on loss-making businesses, describing the previous practice as a form of taxing capital rather than profit.

While acknowledging improvements in public revenue utilisation, he called for greater efficiency, noting that Nigeria still lags behind countries like South Africa in tax collection.