- Safiu Kehinde
The Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee has faulted reports on alleged admittance of errors in the new tax laws by the Minister of State for Finance, Taiwo Oyedele.
Oyedele was reported to have admitted that inconsistencies emerged during the law-making process due to procedural lapses.
The Minister stated this while speaking during a fireside chat at the 2026 annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Legal Practice, themed “From Policy to Practice: Making Sense of Nigeria’s New Tax Reforms” last week.
“This twisted narrative is unhelpful as it risks distorting public understanding and misleading the very people the reforms were designed to benefit.
“The Minister, during a recent fireside chat at the NBA SLP conference in Lagos, highlighted the early positive impact of the new tax laws, including thousands of informal businesses now seeking CAC registration daily while the number of individuals registered for tax purposes nationwide has increased from barely 10 million before the reform to over 100 million. ” The statement partly read.
The committee highlighted what it considered impressive results that have emerged from the new tax laws.
This included exemption of small companies from tax, increased exemption thresholds for low-income earners, tax exemptions on basic consumption items like food, education, healthcare, transportation, and rent, as well as the introduction of the Tax Ombud to protect taxpayer right.
The Presidency maintained that Oyedele had only contrasted the transformative changes in the new laws with the regressive provisions in the old laws.
It admitted that the Minister emphasised that no law is perfect, adding that the ongoing stakeholder engagement is essential to identify and address any errors or gaps for appropriate legislative updates through Finance Bills as part of a continuous improvement process.
The committee urged the public to disregard the reports changing the narratives of the Minister’s statement.
“We urge members of the public to disregard sensational headlines and twisted narratives and rely exclusively on official sources and credible media organisations for accurate information regarding the tax reform and other government policies.” the statement added.