The Federal Government has announced plans to implement tax reforms in July, pending the passage of four bills currently before the National Assembly, SAVANNAH NEWSNOW REPORTS.
Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, announced in Lagos on Saturday that tax reforms, backed by the Nigerian Governors Forum, are expected to be approved by March and implemented in the second quarter of the year.
“We expect the tax reforms to be approved, particularly the tax reform bills in 2025,” he said.
“Our expectation is before the end of Q1 and therefore we can give notice to taxpayers to prepare themselves with capacity and begin to implement around 1st of July.”
Oyedele described the reforms as “transformational,” expressing his enthusiasm about the potential they hold.
“The reason why I have the energy to keep going is because of the possibilities I see in those reforms, which haven’t been done since independence,” he added. “Structurally, those reforms will help Nigeria. They will reduce the pressure even on the policy authorities.”
Oyedele’s committee did not object to the amendment of the Value-Added Tax sharing formula proposed by the Governors’ Forum, which suggests a new distribution of 50% based on equality, 30% on derivation, and 20% on population.
While acknowledging the political elements involved in such reforms, Oyedele remarked: “You also need to consider other things, including political considerations, and so once the governors proposed their formula for sharing the VAT revenue, we have no objections to that, because, at the end of the day, if you need to move one kilometre, you don’t have to move all of that at once; you can’t even jump one kilometre at once.”
