Dogara Calls For Transparency, Sustained Implementation Of Tax Reforms

A erstwhile Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has described President Bola Tinubu’s sweeping taxation reforms arsenic the astir audacious overhaul of Nigeria’s fiscal model successful decades.

He urged the authorities to guarantee transparency and sustained implementation to unafraid nationalist trust.

Dogara, who delivered the maiden Distinguished Parliamentarian Lecture organised yesterday by the House of Representatives Press Corps astatine the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, said Tinubu inherited an system riddled with “economic debris,” specified arsenic excessive shortage financing done Ways and Means, dual speech rates that enriched a fewer astatine the disbursal of many, and crude lipid guardant income tied to overseas loans.

The lecture was titled “Navigating Tax Reform successful Nigeria: Insights connected President Tinubu’s Policies.” The erstwhile talker examined the origin, scope and the expected interaction of the taxation reforms encapsulated successful the Nigeria Tax Act (NTA) 2025 and related legislation.

Dogara said, “By the clip President Tinubu took office, N22.7 trillion had been printed and injected into the economy, destroying the worth of the naira. Some anointed radical were making hundreds of millions disconnected forex allocations without producing immoderate goods oregon services whatsoever.”

He argued that these structural distortions made urgent reforms inevitable.

“From time one, it was wide that thing urgent, nay revolutionary, indispensable beryllium done to forestall our system from imploding,” helium said, stressing that the president had acted with courageousness contempt fierce opposition.

Dogara outlined the cardinal provisions of the reforms, which consolidate 16 national taxation statutes into 4 main Acts: Nigeria Tax Act (NTA) 2025: Consolidates aggregate taxation laws into a unified framework, expands the taxation basal to screen integer services and virtual currencies, and introduces a 15% minimum effectual taxation complaint for ample companies.

According to him, the reforms, which volition beryllium afloat operational by January 2026, are designed to simplify Nigeria’s analyzable taxation regime, broaden the taxation net, promote compliance, and align home rules with planetary standards.

Quoting the study of the Presidential Committee connected Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform, chaired by Prof. Taiwo Oyedele, Dogara said the reforms were conceived to “protect the poor, empower businesses, promote investment, and guarantee fairness crossed society.”

Among the reliefs introduced are exemptions for tiny companies with a turnover of N100 cardinal oregon less, rent reliefs for salaried workers, taxation credits for upstream lipid operators, and a afloat income taxation exemption for individuals earning N800,000 oregon little annually.

The reforms besides abolish aggregate sectoral levies, replacing them with a azygous 4% improvement levy, portion caller provisions bring integer gains, crypto assets, and overseas speech net into the taxation net.

Dogara addressed concerns implicit a 5% substance surcharge captured successful the caller Act, saying it was not a caller taxation but a restatement of an existing proviso successful the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) Act, 2007.

Despite applauding the boldness of the reforms, Dogara highlighted challenges astir uncertainty successful interpretation, technological readiness, skilled manpower and short-term compliance costs.

“True taxation betterment is not astir raising rates, but astir raising trust. When citizens tin spot wherever their naira goes, they are arrogant to springiness it,” helium said.

Dogara urged the authorities to guarantee revenues raised are transparently deployed to physique roads, powerfulness industries, and amended hospitals and schools.

“Let this betterment beryllium a pact betwixt the authorities and the backstage sector, a committedness that if we lend diligently, the authorities volition deploy those resources responsibly,” helium said.

He called connected President Tinubu to guarantee sustained implementation, arsenic the reforms could cement his spot successful history.

The incumbent Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, commended Tinubu’s bold taxation reforms, describing them arsenic a decisive measurement toward simplifying compliance, broadening the taxation net, and easing the load connected mean Nigerians.

Abbas was represented by the House spokesperson and chairman, Committee connected Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Akin Rotimi Jnr.

He said the constitution of the Presidential Committee connected Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, chaired by Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, and the harmonisation of taxation postulation processes acceptable to instrumentality effect successful January 2026, correspond “a important involution that promises to re-engineer our taxation medication architecture for greater efficiency, fairness, and transparency.”

Special Assistant connected Tax Policy to the Executive Chairman, FIRS, and Head of the Fiscal and Tax Reforms Impl...