Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy andTax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has revealed the biggest issue the tax reforms havefaced so far. He noted that the tax reform has consistently faced theproblem of misinformation. The four executive bills signed by President Bola AhmedTinubu on tax reform will take effect by 1 January 2026 and there have beendivergent opinions about the new policy. Speaking on Channels Television, Oyedele readted to the callby some people for a suspension of implementation to avoid a bit of chaos inJanuary. “So I think you know, I’ll also tell you that even beforethis alleged alteration issue came up, there are people who have been callingfor suspension,” he said. “There are people who have been saying no to the reform. Wecannot do it for whatever reasons. The biggest issue we’ve had to deal with,and that we’re still dealing with, has been misinformation. “Now, if you speak to the legal provisions and who has thepowers, even if we want to postpone the implementation of the law, it has to bethe lawmakers. That’s far beyond my pay grade. So that decision has to be made,and I believe that decision for them will be a function of what their findingsfrom this investigation review.” He said that some people are recruiting unsuspectingNigerians to fight the reform that is meant to benefit the generality of thepeople and creating fears. “What is the cost of suspending it or not going ahead withthe reform? It will mean simply that we continue with the status quo, which isthat 98% of workers remain over taxed. “Small Businesses miss out on exemptions so they continue topay multiple taxes and high tax burden, large firms continue with theirmultiple nuisance taxes while minimum taxes continue to apply on low incomeearners and small businesses and unprofitable businesses, hidden VAT continueto make the prices of basic consumption like food, health care and education togo up, and then the wasteful, distortionary incentive that we have that isdistorting the economy will continue. “So we need to be clear about what we are asking for.”
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