Nigeria Moves to One-Stop Tax Shop
If your finance team keeps a spreadsheet just to track Nigeria’s many levies, breathe easy: a sweeping package of four new bills is poised to erase multiple taxation and usher in a single, transparent revenue system from January 2026. The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) says the reforms will “create a predictable environment for business,” NAN reports.
What’s changing? The Nigeria Tax Bill (Ease of Doing Business), Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill consolidate federal and sub-national taxes under one roof. Good-bye to the 60-plus overlapping levies that once greeted anyone trying to register a truck or sign a contract.
Underpinning the revamp is a tougher rulebook. The new Nigerian Tax Act slaps stiffer penalties, ranging from sizeable fines to jail time, on anyone who skips registration, ignores e-filing, or pockets withholding tax, according to Punch.
The reaction was swift: businesses applauded the simplification but urged Abuja to publish transition guidelines yesterday. ACCI called for “robust stakeholder engagement” so firms aren’t left guessing about compliance timelines, per Guardian.
Around the Tax World
• CGT on a Diet: Capital Gains Tax will slide to 25% in 2026,down from the current 30% but still well above the pre-2023 level of 10%,as part of broader fiscal tweaks, committee chair Taiwo Oyedele told BusinessDay.
• VAT Relief for Essentials: From next year, food, education, and healthcare purchases will shed VAT entirely, while small companies get 0% corporate tax plus VAT exemption, according to The Nation.
• No Tax? Still File: FIRS reminded micro-enterprises that zero corporate tax doesn’t equal zero paperwork,annual returns remain mandatory or penalties apply (The Cable & Nairametrics).
• LIRS Takes a Bow: Lagos State’s tax agency bagged “Top Revenue Agency” for its digital transformation drive, with Executive Chairman Ayodele Subair named Board Chair of the Year, Gazelle News notes.
Tax Stat of the Day
25% , the new Capital Gains Tax rate pencilled in for 2026, trimming investors’ exit bills by five percentage points.
Looking Ahead
All eyes are now on the Finance Ministry’s promised implementation guidelines, expected before year-end, that will tell companies exactly how to glide from today’s patchwork to the new single-window regime.