Nigeria’s national rollout of digital fiscalisation in the new fiscal system under the NRS should therefore use Lagos as a case study. Technological innovations only work to the extent that they are user-friendly, usable, and effectively publicised.
6ii. FCT Revenue Streamlining – A Scalable Model
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has also provided a more positive example in recent years of the benefits of a simple, centralised, and technology-enabled revenue mobilisation approach. Its introduction of a single-window revenue portal for agencies, integration of Area Council revenue into its system, and its use of property databases to reduce leakage all helped drive efficiency. In addition, the FCT Authority pays close attention to taxpayer feedback sessions and regularly makes necessary adjustments, while also simplifying the process for FCT taxpayers to pay their taxes.
The NRS and Joint Revenue Board may be able to scale the FCT’s efforts on a national level as a key model in several states, where tax administration is highly fragmented and reliant on intermediaries, revenue collectors operating within the informal sector.
6iii. The Kaduna State Tax Academy – Building Human Capital
In an interesting move that few in the country were aware of, the Kaduna State government has been investing heavily in capacity building and training for its internal staff. This investment focused on training its revenue collection staff, both at headquarters and in the field, on ethics, new e-tax platforms, and practical communication skills, creating a new cadre of officials that emphasised taxpayer communication and education over pure enforcement.
The NRS can draw an important lesson from Kaduna State’s Tax Academy: Build your people. It is not enough to issue new policies without backing them up with human capital investment on the ground at all levels. After all, laws don’t implement themselves; people do.
6iv. Ghana’s e-Levy Rollout – A Regional Comparison
A relevant case study to learn from in the near region is Ghana’s introduction of the e-Levy, also known as the Electronic Transaction Levy (ETL), in 2022. This initiative aimed to tax electronic mobile money transactions to expand its tax base. However, while its intentions may have been good, the e-Levy suffered from poor public sensitisation before introduction, a high number of technical errors in the first months, and public perception that it was double taxation, among other factors.
Nigeria must guard against the same mistake. Reform will need to be underpinned by stakeholder and taxpayer engagement and buy-in, as well as the setting of clear, widely understood, and attainable objectives at each stage. Transparency and an incremental approach can also help.
The lessons from these cases are clear: tax reform is as much a process as it is an event. It is not enough to sign a bill; the Nigerian government should actively learn from the successes and challenges of the cases above to achieve desired outcomes in the reform process.
Recommendations
For the reforms to achieve their desired objectives and enjoy the full benefits anticipated by their noble designs, they must be translated from textual intent to purposeful action. In this regard, the following points are recommended for consideration in the alignment of policy with implementation:
Clear constitutional ambiguities.
To resolve outstanding ambiguities, especially those surrounding VAT and consumption taxes, the National Assembly, in concert with the judiciary and constitutional reform committees, must concretely and conclusively determine the tax powers, revenue assignments, and judicial jurisdictions between federal and state governments to ensure a binding legal framework with less room for future litigation.
Endow the Nigerian revenue service (NRS) with real authority
The new agency must be empowered not only with sufficient political insulation and autonomy, but also with a well-defined and adequately funded expanded mandate. Institutional reforms should focus on performance metrics, staff training, and modernising taxpayer services, with a long-term goal of establishing an effective internal monitoring unit to hold the agency accountable for integrity and service delivery.
Close the digital divide
To narrow the technological divide, the government should explore the subsidisation of fiscal devices as well as onboarding incentives for SMEs. Community-level training programs, pilot projects, and partnerships with fintech companies can help accelerate the adoption of e-tax in regions with limited connectivity.
Simplify tax compliance processes
To encourage tax compliance and voluntary registration, the NRS should create easy-to-navigate tax portals, mobile applications, and helplines. Taxpayer services should be user-friendly and available in local languages. Additionally, features such as live chat support and simplified payment instructions can significantly reduce the perceived compliance burden.
Enhance intergovernmental cooperation
To operationalise the Joint Revenue Board, shared audit teams, common tax databases, and harmonised reporting could yield significant benefits. Jointly published audits, performance-based incentives, and publicised progress reports can provide more transparency while reducing data duplication. Regular inter-agency retreats and personnel exchange programs may further ease frictions.
Scale up public enlightenment campaigns
For the reforms to take effect, more taxpayers need to be informed. This can be achieved through multilingual mass media broadcasts, social media toolkit releases, roadshows, and community town hall meetings. Leveraging the reach of trade associations, professional groups, and faith-based organisations may be helpful.
Activate independent oversight functions
The Office of the Tax Ombud and the zonal Tax Appeal Tribunals must be fully independent, adequately staffed and funded, and mandated to hear and render decisions on complaints or tax-related disputes in the shortest possible time. Their decisions and quarterly activity reports should be published annually to increase accountability and transparency further.
Evaluate reform performance
An annual Tax Reform Review Committee should be established to evaluate the effectiveness of reforms in improving Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, enhancing taxpayer services, and creating a fairer tax system that supports economic growth. Their recommendations should be incorporated into future policy amendments.
Conclusion
The passage of the new tax laws in Nigeria is a watershed moment in the country’s tax history. These reforms aim to overhaul the country’s entire fiscal system from the ground up, creating a system that is fairer, more inclusive, more accountable, and more efficient in tax collection.
In many ways, these reforms mark a paradigm shift from the status quo to a new Nigerian tax system that prioritises integrity and service at its core. Lowering and harmonising tax rates is just one step.
The goal is to establish a new culture of compliance through a redesigned trust in government institutions that fosters broad-based buy-in from taxpayers in both the private and informal sectors.
Renaming FIRS to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) is a rebranding exercise that carries significant symbolic importance. The new agency is to have not just a wider mandate but also more powers and responsibilities. It is meant to be better, with an emphasis on making tax simpler, easier, and more supportive of businesses. But only time and results will tell.
Under the new laws, more power is now shared between the NRS and state governments, especially in terms of monitoring and enforcement. The question is: Will this usher in a golden era of revenue collaboration or merely institutionalise revenue war?
At this critical moment for Nigeria’s tax regime, it is difficult to predict how well these reforms will work in practice or whether they will lead to a sustained increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio. The policy architects have given it their best shot, and now it is up to the forces of history and implementation to take it forward.
We can only hope that it is the start of a virtuous cycle where Nigerians pay more taxes because they see the value, feel the difference, and believe that the process is fair. The reforms are ambitious and welcome, but they are not enough. They need to be matched by an equivalent surge in collective will to work. And this, perhaps, is Nigeria’s new tax reform “new normal.”
Concluded.
Dr Oluwadele is an Author, Chartered Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner and Public Policy Scholar based in Canada. He can be reached via:[email protected]
