Tax Reform Won’t Deliver Without Taxpayers’ Trust, Says Ombud

Nigeria’s tax reform agenda will not deliver sustainable revenue growth unless government builds greater trust, fairness and accountability into the tax system, the Tax Ombud and Chief Executive of the Office of the Tax Ombud, Dr John Nwabueze, has said.

Nwabueze, who was represented at the 36th anniversary conference of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) in Lagos by the Tax Ombud Chief of Staff, Dr Peter Iwegbu said increasing tax revenue can not be achieved through enforcement alone, stressing that taxpayers must understand and trust the system they are required to pay into.

“Nigeria cannot build a sustainable revenue system by focusing only on what citizens and businesses must pay. We must also focus on why they should trust the system through which they pay,” he said.

Pointing out that Nigeria’s tax to GDP ratio stood at 8.2 per cent in 2023, compared with an average of 16.1 per cent across 38 African countries, he stressed the need to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation.

Nwabueze, however warned that broadening the tax base required more than compelling compliance, noting that taxpayers must be able to understand their obligations and have confidence that the system would treat them fairly.

He noted the four tax laws enacted in 2025 had provided a framework for modernising tax administration, as he stressed that the real test would be how the reforms affect taxpayers and businesses.

According to him, taxpayers should be able to determine which taxes, levies and charges legitimately apply to them, while having access to timely redress when they believe they have been treated unfairly.

“Taxpayer rights and taxpayer responsibilities are inseparable,” Nwabueze said, adding that while taxpayers had an obligation to pay lawful taxes, revenue authorities must administer the system fairly, transparently and consistently with the law.

He said this was particularly important for businesses facing multiple taxes, levies, fees and charges from different authorities. “For many businesses, the challenge is not only the amount paid, but also the complexity, duplication and cost associated with multiple demands from different authorities,” he said.

Nwabueze also called for technology to be deployed to simplify tax administration, warning against merely transferring existing bureaucratic processes from paper to digital platforms. “The digitalisation of tax administration should not simply mean transferring complicated procedures from paper to a computer screen. True digital transformation means making the system simpler, more accessible and more responsive,” he said.

He said the fintech revolution had demonstrated the potential of digital technology to transform financial services, but cautioned that technology would only strengthen the tax system if taxpayers could trust its reliability, data protection and ability to provide effective redress.

“The success of tax reform will ultimately be judged not only by the laws enacted or the revenue collected, but also by the quality of the relationship that develops between the citizen and the state,” he said.