The Federal Government on Tuesday formally prohibited cash collection of taxes and banned the mounting of roadblocks for revenue enforcement, as part of fresh regulations to implement Nigeria’s new tax laws nationwide.
The disclosure was made in Abuja by the Executive Secretary of the Joint Revenue Board, Mr Olusegun Adesokan, during the signing of the Presumptive Tax Regulations and Guidelines on the Implementation of the Tax Laws at the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Adesokan said the new framework was designed to end informal, coercive, and fragmented tax practices, particularly at the subnational level. “It bans all forms of cash collection by tax authorities. It also bans the mounting of roadblocks for the collection of taxes,” he said.
He explained that the regulations would entrench transparency and equity in tax administration, especially within the commerce and informal sectors.
“These regulations are another demonstration of his commitment to taxing prosperity and not poverty,” Adesokan said, referring to the reform agenda of the Federal Government.
According to him, nano and small businesses with an annual turnover of N12m and below would be exempted under the presumptive tax regime. “Our nano and small businesses with an annual turnover of N12m and below are exempted from tax,” he stated.
He added that the framework introduced a one per cent tax rate on turnover for other categories of informal businesses, while encouraging the use of technology-driven payment systems. “It also introduces a tax rate of one per cent of turnover on all other categories of informal businesses,” he said.
Adesokan noted that the guidelines provided a uniform structure for subnational governments in taxing the commerce sector and integrating operators into the formal system through a Tax Identification platform.
“These regulations constitute the framework for taxing the commerce sector,” he said, adding that the alignment of states behind the framework signalled a coordinated national approach.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, said the signing marked a transition from legislative approval to operational enforcement of the tax reforms enacted in 2025 and early 2026. “With the signing of these regulations, we are transitioning from regulation to structured implementation of the tax reforms,” Edun said.
He described the regulations as a simple and transparent framework for applying presumptive tax, stressing that they were anchored on “transparency, fairness, clarity, indeed, equity, and economic inclusion for Nigerians.”
“Our aim is to ensure consistency, prevent arbitrary assessments… and to protect small businesses while ensuring the continuous growth of the Nigerian economy,” the minister said.
Edun maintained that the reforms were not intended to raise tax rates but to broaden the tax base in a structured manner. “We’ll expand the tax base, not raising taxes, but expanding so that each bears his rightful contribution to the common cause,” he said.
He said the regulations were developed in collaboration with the Joint Revenue Board to ensure alignment across federal, state, and local governments. “Our role is to ensure that tax administrations are coordinated, not fragmented, and deliver results and impact to all Nigerians,” he stated.
The minister linked the reforms to the government’s broader growth objectives, noting that economic expansion had exceeded four per cent in the last quarter of 2025 but required further acceleration.
“We’re looking at, in the immediate term, to try to get to seven per cent GDP growth on our way to Mr President’s clear-stated target… by 2030, the $1tn economy,” Edun said.
He assured stakeholders that implementation would be closely monitored to safeguard fairness, adding that an ombudsman mechanism had been introduced. “Implementation will be monitored carefully. Fairness in practice… there’s an ombudsman to keep an eye on fair implementation of the tax laws,” he said.
In his closing remarks, the Chairman of the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee, Mr Joseph Tegbe, described the signing as a decisive shift from policy intention to practical execution. “With the signing of the presumptive tax guidelines, we have moved from legal provisions to operational reality,” Tegbe said.
He stressed that the reforms were not about imposing new burdens but correcting distortions in the system. “It’s not about imposing new volumes but restoring order where there has been fragmentation and replacing arbitrariness with transparency,” he said.
Tegbe observed that the informal sector employs more than 80 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce but has historically contributed little to structured public revenue due to systemic weaknesses.
“The informal sector… employs more than 80 per cent of the workforce… yet its contribution to structured public revenue has been disproportionately low, not because they are unwilling to pay but because our framework was either too complex or did not reflect operational realities,” he said.
He added that sustainable development required sustainable revenue mobilisation and that the committee would work with tax authorities to ensure disciplined and transparent rollout of the new framework. “With today’s signing, we move decisively from intention to execution,” Tegbe said.
In June 2025, President Bola Tinubu signed four sweeping tax reform bills into law, including the Nigeria Tax Act and related statutes that together overhaul decades-old tax statutes and modernise the country’s tax system.
