The Federal Government has defended the planned January 2026 implementation of the new tax bills recently signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The presidency has come under heavy criticisms over alleged alterations and discrepancies between the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions later gazetted and made available to the public.

But speaking on Channels Television on Monday, Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, warned that delaying the reforms could push up prices of basic goods and services, including food, healthcare and education, while keeping workers and small businesses overtaxed.

He said opposition to the reforms did not begin with the recent allegations of alterations to the laws, noting that calls for suspension had existed even before the controversy started.

Oyedele attributed much of the resistance to misinformation, stressing that decisions on whether to suspend or postpone the implementation of the laws lie with the National Assembly.

He warned that delaying the reforms would mean retaining the current tax regime, which he said placed a heavy burden on workers and small businesses.

According to him, the bottom 98 per cent of workers would remain overtaxed, while small businesses would continue to miss out on exemptions and face multiple taxes.

“I think I should also say that even before the alleged alteration issue came up, there were people calling for suspension and others saying no to the reform, for different reasons. The biggest issue we have had to deal with, and are still dealing with, is misinformation.

“Now, when you look at the legal provisions and who has the powers, even if we want to postpone the implementation of the law, that decision rests with the lawmakers. That is far beyond my pay grade, and I believe such a decision will be a function of what the findings from this investigation reveal.

“But just to make this very clear to Nigerians. What some people have done is to recruit unsuspecting Nigerians to fight a reform that is meant to benefit the generality of the people, mainly by creating fear,” he said.

Oyedele also said large firms would continue to deal with nuisance taxes, while minimum tax would still apply to low-income earners and unprofitable businesses.

He added that hidden value-added tax would keep pushing up the cost of basic goods and services such as food, healthcare and education.

“So. what is the cost of delay, what is the cost of not going ahead on January 1, and what is the cost of suspending the reform? It simply means that we continue with the status quo, which is that the bottom 98 per cent of workers remain overtaxed, small businesses continue to miss out on exemptions and so they continue to pay multiple taxes and high tax burden, large firms continue to face nuisance taxes, minimum tax continues to apply to low-income earners, small businesses and unprofitable businesses, and hidden VAT continues to push up the cost of basic items such as food, healthcare and education. It also means that the wasteful distortionary incentives that are distorting the economy will continue.”

On the allegations that some provisions of the tax laws were altered after passage by the National Assembly, Oyedele said that even if such changes were established, the appropriate response would be to identify the affected provisions and treat them as not being part of the law.

“So, we need to be clear about what we are asking for. That is why I keep saying that even if it is established that there have been substantial alterations to what the National Assembly passed, my view is that those provisions should simply be identified and treated as not being part of the law.

“So, you can then go ahead and implement the law as passed by the National Assembly, while addressing the questions of how those provisions got there and what should be done about them.”

He further disclosed that the committee had already identified areas within the laws passed by the National Assembly that require amendments, including issues related to references and definitions.

“Even looking at what was passed by the National Assembly, there are areas where my committee already noted the need to go back, through Mr President, to request amendments. Some of these issues relate to referencing and definitions.

“For example, small business is defined differently in two of the new laws. If you are defining a small business, it should be defined in one consistent way so people are not confused.

“So, these are issues that already require intervention by the lawmakers,” he added. (Daily Trust)

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