The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has declared that the 2025 Tax Reform Acts, would deliver “a more equitable, efficient, and transparent tax system provided its implementation is timely, inclusive, and firmly rooted in transparency and accountability.”
The tax laws are the Nigeria Tax Act 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2025 and Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act 2025.
The NESG, said that these laws would lay the “groundwork for a more transparent, efficient, and pro-growth tax system” in Nigeria.
The NESG also pointed out that “Nigeria’s tax system has long been plagued by complexity, weak enforcement, and lowpublic trust” and “the new reforms aim to reverse this situation by making taxation simpler, fairer, and more focused on value and productivity.
“Thus, the core principle is to “tax the fruit, not the seed”—targeting profits and consumption, not early-stage income or small businesses.”
It expressed these views in its occasional paper series titled “The 2025 Nigerian Tax Reform Acts: Taxing the Fruits, Not the Seed,” which was released yesterday.
According to the NESG, “the 2025 tax reforms mark a major step forward in Nigeria’s fiscal evolution. For individuals, especially low-income earners, the reforms offer relief through exemptions on wages, essential goods, and job-loss compensation.
“For small businesses, reduced tax levies, including income and withholding taxes, are expected to ease compliance burdens and stimulate growth.
“Larger businesses will benefit from input tax credits, though they must meet stricter compliance requirements.”
The NESG said that the objectives of the new tax laws are to simplify the tax system, broaden the base, protect vulnerable groups, and improve tax collection and accountability.
“In specific terms, the newly enacted tax reform laws pursue several policy, institutional and economic goals, which are to “increase domestic revenue mobilization and raise Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio to 18 per cent within five years, thereby reducing reliance on oil revenue and debt financing” of public expenditures.
Other objectives of the tax reform laws are to simplify and harmonise the tax system by merging fragmented tax laws into a coherent framework in a manner that would make compliance easy for individuals and businesses.
The NESG also said that the new laws would Nigerian modernise tax administration with the establishment of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) with the mandate to collect and account for all revenues accruing to the federation.
It said: “In addition, the digitalisation of all aspects of tax administration aims to improve efficiency and curb leakages.”
It also said that transparency and taxpayers’ confidence would be enhanced with the introduction of Tax Tribunal and Tax Ombudsman to resolve disputes and protect taxpayer rights.
The NESG also stated that the laws would promote fairness and equity with its exemption of essentials like food and medicine from VAT.
It would also “simplify compliance for micro and small businesses earning under ₦50 million annually” and foster the strengthening of intergovernmental coordination through the setting “up of a Joint Revenue Board to align federal, state, and local tax policies.
“Also, revise revenue-sharing mechanisms to reward productivity while preserving equity.”
The NESG also remarked that the newly introduced tax laws would support economic competitiveness and growth by lowering compliance costs to attract investment.
