Six months into Nigeria’s tax reforms, the Organised Private Sector is demanding greater clarity and predictability in tax administration as businesses adjust to the new regime.
Speaking at the 2026 LCCI-OPS Stakeholders’ Forum on Emerging Tax Matters, Leye Kupoluyi, president of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the conversation has shifted from legislation to implementation and from expectation to evidence.
According to him, businesses make investment decisions based on expected future costs. He noted that when tax rules change frequently, regulations are delayed, or different authorities interpret provisions differently, it ceases to be just a tax administration problem and becomes an investment problem.
Kupoluyi, who was represented by Olajumoke Fashanu, welcomed the transition guidelines recently issued by the federal government, noting that they clarify how pre-2026 transactions and new accounting periods will be treated.
However, he said going forward, Nigeria needs a tax administration culture where clarification comes before disputes, consultation precedes major changes, and digitalization delivers simplicity instead of additional bureaucracy.
He added that while government has a legitimate objective to increase revenue, the more sustainable approach is to broaden the tax base and improve compliance rather than increase the burden on existing taxpayers.
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For the reform to succeed, Kupoluyi said it must be measured by whether compliance has become easier, costs have fallen, the tax base has expanded, and investment confidence has improved.
Presenting findings from a joint survey conducted by PwC and LCCI, Emeka Chime, partner, PwC, said businesses generally support the objectives of the reforms but remain cautious about implementation challenges and uncertainty about how some provisions apply in practice.
Chime said the survey had 207 respondents — 154 individuals and 63 companies — focused on awareness, government communication, performance of new measures, and priority areas for improvement.
The central finding, he said, is that while taxpayers agree with the goals of consolidation, fairness and digitalisation, caution persists about administrative and coordination gaps.
“Some provisions are new and without any judicial precedent. It is natural for there to be uncertainty,” Chime stated, adding that clarity is needed before the 2027 amendment cycle.
For businesses, understanding of the new laws was significantly higher. About 40.9 percent reported a positive cash flow impact, with only 4.5 percent reporting negative effects, partly due to new VAT input recovery rules. But only 18.9 percent viewed the new VAT destination rules positively, citing concerns about consistent application and audit disputes.
Coordination between the Nigeria Revenue Service and state authorities was flagged as the weakest area of implementation.
Chime said the key recommendations from both individuals and companies were improved taxpayer education, simpler laws, and clearer guidelines from NRS to avoid disputes.
He urged government to measure success by compliance cost, time spent on filing, business cash flow impact, and investment. “Paying tax itself should not be administratively cumbersome,” he added.
In his keynote address, Ayodele Subair, LIRS executive chairman, said Lagos tax revenue collections in the first half of 2026 rose 29 percent year-on-year.
Subair, who was represented by Folusho Mustapha, director of tax audit, said the increase was driven by a 36 percent rise in PAYE collections and a 15 percent increase in other revenue lines.
He added that statutory annual filings also grew, with corporate filings up 11 percent and individual filings up 92 percent year-on-year.
The chairman noted that the success of tax reform will ultimately be measured not by legislation alone, but by how easy it is to comply, how fairly the system is administered, and how much confidence taxpayers have in the system.
“Compliance should be made easier and less costly for those willing to comply, while deliberate non-compliance should become easier to identify,” he said.
Subair said LIRS had strengthened its digital platforms, data integration, and staff capacity ahead of implementation to improve taxpayer identification, risk-based interventions and service delivery.
He said the findings of the LCCI-PwC Six-Month Assessment provide a valuable evidence base to address implementation challenges.
Looking ahead, Subair said LIRS will prioritize simplification, engagement and collaboration with the Organised Private Sector.
