By Olaitan Ibrahim
Zacch Adedeji, the chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has assured Nigerians that the proposed tax reform laws will not introduce any new taxes or increase rate of existing ones.
He made this known during an interactive session with members of the Senate Committee on Finance in Abuja on Tuesday.
Adedeji emphasised that the reforms would neither increase the rates of existing taxes nor add new ones. Instead, the aim is to streamline and reduce the number of taxes paid by Nigerians.
“The tax reform will not introduce any taxes or increase percentage of existing ones but reduce number of taxes being paid by Nigerians. No agency will be merged in the process of carrying out the reform and no job will be taken from anybody”, Adedeji said.
“The Tax reform basically seeks to increase simplicity and efficiency of tax administration in Nigeria “, he added .
Addressing concerns about the impact of the new tax policies introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, Adedeji explained that the intention is not to tax poverty but to focus on prosperity. “We are taxing fruits, not seeds—returns, not investments,” he said.
The FIRS chairman also provided an update on four executive bills currently before the National Assembly; Nigeria Tax Bill, Nigeria Tax Administration Act (Amendment) Bill, Nigeria Revenue Service Bill, and Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill.
According to Adedeji, when passed into law, these bills will harmonise the multiple tax laws in the country, enhance efficiency and modernisation, simplify tax regulations, and foster synergy among revenue-generating agencies.
He added that the reforms are also intended to promote transparency, align with international standards, broaden the tax base, and improve government savings.
Explaining the proposed change of the agency’s name to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Adedeji said that the current name, FIRS, does not fully reflect the scope of its services. He pointed out that 85% of the Value Added Tax (VAT) collected is remitted to state governments, while only 15% goes to the federal government.
In his remarks, Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, said the interactive session was organised to provide an update on the objectives of the tax reform bills.
“Tax reforms are central to the government’s agenda and require meaningful contributions from all stakeholders,” he stated.
He commended the FIRS chairman for achieving revenue targets for the fiscal year but urged him to aim beyond the set targets.