Tax Ombud: Multiple Taxes, Levies, Charges Hurting Nigerian Businesses

*Urges authorities to simplify digital tax administration, uphold taxpayers’ rights

Festus Akanbi, Dike Onwuamaeze and Kayode Tokede

The Tax Ombud and Chief Executive of the Office of the Tax Ombud, Dr John Nwabueze, has raised concerns over the cumulative burden of multiple taxes, levies, fees and charges on Nigerian businesses, warning that duplication and competing demands from different authorities were increasing the cost and complexity of doing business in the country.
Nwabueze raised the concerns yesterday at the 36th annual conference of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN), held in Lagos.

Represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr Pete Iwegbu, Nwabueze, in a speech titled “Building Taxpayer Confidence and Trust in Nigeria’s Tax Reform Agenda,” said Nigeria could not build a sustainable revenue system by focusing solely on what citizens and businesses were required to pay.
He stressed that stakeholders must also address why businesses should trust the system through which they paid taxes and levies to the government.
According to him, the need for businesses to trust the system was where tax reform, recapitalisation and the fintech revolution converged.

“Each represents a dimension of economic transformation. Yet, their long-term success depends on confidence—in institutions, rules, technology and the fairness of the system,” he said.
Nwabueze noted that the four Tax Acts enacted in 2025 were designed to modernise revenue administration, establish clearer legal frameworks and improve coordination among tax-related institutions.
He added that the federal government issued transition guidelines to facilitate implementation and clarify the move from the previous tax regime to the new framework.

He, however, questioned whether small business owners understood their obligations, whether companies could determine which taxes, levies and charges legitimately applied to them, and whether taxpayers could obtain timely responses when assessments or administrative decisions were disputed.

“And, perhaps most importantly, does the taxpayers believe that the system will treat them fairly? These are not merely administrative questions; they are questions of economic confidence,” he said.
According to him, revenue growth and taxpayer confidence should not be regarded as competing objectives, stressing that stakeholders collectively had a responsibility to ensure the reforms produced tangible improvements in administration, clarity and fairness.

Nwabueze maintained that taxpayers’ rights and responsibilities were inseparable, adding that citizens and businesses had a legitimate obligation to pay all lawfully imposed taxes.

He warned that tax evasion undermined public revenue, placed additional pressure on compliant taxpayers and distorted competition.

“A society cannot sustainably finance public services, infrastructure and development when individuals and businesses deliberately avoid their lawful obligations. But responsibility does not rest with taxpayers alone,” he stated.

The Tax Ombud also noted that the fintech revolution had transformed Nigeria’s financial landscape, with digital payments, technology platforms and innovative financial services changing how people conducted transactions, accessed services and managed businesses.

He noted that technology did not automatically inspire trust, saying people needed assurance that digital systems were reliable, their personal information was protected, transactions could be appropriately traced, and institutions would respond effectively when problems arose.

“The same principle applies to digital tax administration. As tax systems become increasingly technology-enabled, we must ensure that digital transformation produces a better taxpayer experience.

“The digitalisation of tax administration should not simply mean transferring complicated procedures from paper to a computer screen. True digital transformation means making the system simpler, more accessible and more responsive,” he explained.

Nwabueze said the Office of the Tax Ombud recognised the importance of public awareness, taxpayer education and accessible channels of engagement in strengthening confidence in the system.

“Technology must serve the taxpayer, not create another barrier between the taxpayer and the state,” he added.

He challenged taxpayers to fulfil their responsibility to pay legitimate taxes, stressing that taxation was both a civic obligation and an essential source of public revenue.

He equally charged tax authorities to administer the system fairly, transparently and accountably.

“Revenue collection must be anchored in lawful and professional administration. The Tax Ombud also has a responsibility to provide a credible avenue for resolving legitimate grievances.

“We must continue to promote fairness, accessibility and confidence in the tax system. The success of tax reform will ultimately be judged not only by the laws enacted or the revenue collected, but also by the quality of the relationship that develops between citizens and the state.

“Let us build a system in which compliance is supported by understanding, administration is strengthened by accountability, and public confidence grows through experience.

“Let us ensure that Nigeria’s tax reform agenda contributes to a stronger fiscal foundation, a more predictable business environment and a more trusting relationship between the government and the people,” he said.

Nwabueze also urged members of FICAN not to regard themselves merely as observers of economic policy.

“Financial journalists help to translate these developments into information that businesses, households, investors and policymakers can understand. Your work can contribute to better compliance and stronger accountability,” he stated.

Speaking earlier, the Head of the Corporate Communications Department at the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mr Ibrahim Buwai, described pension reform as one of Nigeria’s most significant transformations in recent years.

“However, we have also encountered challenges relating to delayed payments in the public sector,” he added.

Buwai said the pension sector had moved from deficit to surplus, adding that the federal government had made significant progress in settling retirees’ accrued pension rights.

“Today, we are 41 months in surplus. This means that we have paid the accrued pension rights of federal government employees due to retire up to December 2029. The most recent development is the payment of additional benefits to retired federal government workers,” he said.

He called on private-sector employers to emulate the federal government by paying additional pension benefits to their retired workers.