Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele has declared that Nigeria’s drive toward fiscal federalism would remain ineffective unless all tiers of government embraced shared responsibility, fairness, and accountability in tax administration, speaking at a national workshop on strengthening tax compliance under the new tax regime.
He said the country had to create an environment where taxpayers contributed fairly while also benefiting from improved revenue mobilization, and described structural imbalances within the tax system as having continued to weaken voluntary compliance. He said the new regime was designed to build a fairer and more sustainable fiscal framework for national development.
Nigeria Revenue Service Executive Chairman Dr. Zacch Adedeji, represented by Executive Director Muhammad Lawal, said the country could no longer sustain a fiscal structure where some states and government-owned entities benefitted from federally distributed revenues without making commensurate tax contributions. He disclosed that the NRS faced the task of raising approximately N40 trillion in tax revenue this year and that the service would introduce a performance-based recognition initiative for states demonstrating outstanding tax compliance starting this year.
NRS Large Taxpayer Director Amina Ado said monitoring and audit operations had revealed major leakages in the prompt deduction and remittance of VAT and Withholding Tax by some government institutions, creating inequities among states where some consistently filled the national revenue pool while others participated in distribution without making fair contributions.
