The Federal Government has banned cash collection of taxes and the mounting of roadblocks for revenue enforcement nationwide, marking a major step in the implementation of recently enacted tax reforms.
The announcement was made in Abuja by the Executive Secretary of the Joint Revenue Board, Olusegun Adesokan, during the signing of the Presumptive Tax Regulations and Guidelines at the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Adesokan said the new framework was designed to eliminate informal, coercive and fragmented tax practices, particularly at the subnational level. He stressed that all forms of cash collection by tax authorities are now prohibited, alongside the use of roadblocks for revenue enforcement.
According to him, the regulations are aimed at entrenching transparency, equity and uniformity in tax administration, especially within the commerce and informal sectors.
Under the new presumptive tax regime, nano and small businesses with an annual turnover of N12 million and below are exempted from taxation. For other categories of informal businesses, a one per cent tax on turnover has been introduced. The framework also encourages the adoption of technology-driven payment systems to enhance accountability.
Adesokan noted that the guidelines provide a uniform structure for subnational governments to tax the commerce sector while integrating operators into the formal system through a Tax Identification platform. He described the alignment of states with the framework as a signal of a coordinated national approach to revenue administration.
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Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the signing marked the transition from legislative approval to structured enforcement of the tax reforms enacted in 2025 and early 2026.
Edun described the regulations as a simple and transparent framework anchored on fairness, clarity, equity and economic inclusion. He emphasised that the reforms are not designed to raise tax rates but to broaden the tax base in a structured and consistent manner.
“We aim to ensure consistency, prevent arbitrary assessments and protect small businesses while ensuring continuous growth of the Nigerian economy,” he said.
The minister added that the reforms were developed in collaboration with the Joint Revenue Board to ensure coordination across federal, state and local governments, reducing fragmentation in tax administration.
Linking the reforms to broader economic targets, Edun noted that economic growth exceeded four per cent in the last quarter of 2025 and expressed optimism about achieving higher growth rates in pursuit of the administration’s long-term goal of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030 under Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He assured stakeholders that implementation would be closely monitored to safeguard fairness, adding that an ombudsman mechanism has been introduced to oversee compliance and address grievances.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee, Joseph Tegbe, described the signing as a decisive shift from policy intention to practical execution. He said the reforms are intended to restore order to a previously fragmented system and replace arbitrariness with transparency.
Tegbe observed that Nigeria’s informal sector, which employs more than 80 per cent of the workforce, has historically contributed little to structured public revenue due to systemic weaknesses and complex frameworks. He stressed that sustainable development depends on sustainable revenue mobilisation and pledged disciplined and transparent implementation of the new regime.
In June 2025, President Tinubu signed four major tax reform bills into law, including the Nigeria Tax Act, overhauling decades-old tax legislation and setting the stage for the current implementation phase.