Keypoints
- The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged policymakers to simplify tax compliance, eliminate multiple taxation, and implement reforms that promote growth.
- High-level deliberations took place on Tuesday during a stakeholders’ tax roundtable hosted in Abuja.
- Administrative reports noted that businesses are currently adjusting to major fiscal reforms introduced through the Nigeria Tax Act 2025.
- Taxation experts warned that overlapping taxes and multiple demands from agencies have significantly increased the cost of doing business.
- Institutional leaders stated that the current reforms simplify tax administration, block financial leakages, and reduce burdens on low-income earners.
Main Story
The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), has urged policymakers to simplify tax compliance, eliminate multiple taxation and implement reforms that promote growth, investment and strengthening of public trust.
Dr Aliyu Hong, Chairman, National Policy Advocacy Centre (NPAC), ACCI, said this at a stakeholders’ tax roundtable, themed, “Tax Reality: Ripple Effects on Industry and Commerce,” in Abuja on Tuesday. Hong urged the policymakers and tax authorities to prioritise protection for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and improve strong institutional coordination across all levels of government.
He noted that the recent tax reforms remained necessary but required careful implementation to avoid worsening business challenges.
To evaluate intermediate structural issues, trade leaders emphasized that private enterprises are currently navigating deep macroeconomic hurdles alongside evolving statutory mandates.
Hong said businesses were adjusting to major fiscal reforms introduced through the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and related legislation, adding that organised private sector must assess the reforms’ effects on investment, production, employment and economic survival.
He identified inflation, exchange rate instability, insecurity, poor infrastructure and high energy costs as challenges weakening businesses nationwide, warning that excessive compliance burdens could reduce competitiveness, discourage investment and shrink the tax base.
Furthermore, public finance administrators have defended the updated tax frameworks as essential tools to protect vulnerable demographics and secure public revenues.
Mr Innocent Ohagwa, President, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), said that tax reforms were designed to support vulnerable Nigerians and improve economic stability.
Ohagwa said abolishing taxes would worsen Nigeria’s challenges, increase borrowing and weaken government capacity to provide essential services and infrastructure for citizens. He explained that the new guidelines simplified administration, blocked leakages, and established progressive taxation ensuring wealthier citizens contributed more.
The Issues
- Eliminating overlapping taxes and multiple demands from agencies that increase the cost of doing business.
- Protecting MSMEs from excessive compliance burdens that stifle enterprise growth and reduce national competitiveness.
- Enhancing public trust, clarity, and predictability within the tax system so investments can thrive.
What’s Being Said
- Outlining the primary dependence of statutory policy outcomes on societal buy-in, ACCI NPAC Chairman Dr Aliyu Hong noted: “The success of any reform depends not only on policy design, but also on public trust and implementation efficiency.”
- Defining the core structural objectives that a well-designed national tax network must deliver for the business community, Hong stated: “Nigeria needs a tax system that encourages growth, rewards productivity, attracts investment and supports businesses to expand, not merely survive.”
- Reaffirming the availability of commercial trade groups to assist state actors, he added: “The organised private sector remains ready to collaborate constructively with government in building a stronger and more sustainable economy,”
- Insisting on rigorous joint reviews and data-driven impact assessments prior to the enactment of fiscal laws, Hong argued: “Taxation should promote economic growth, industrial development, job creation and investment attraction and policies affecting businesses must emerge through consultations, stakeholder engagement and realistic economic assessment.”
- Outlining the baseline criteria necessary for corporations to effectively budget and allocate capital, the text noted: “Hong noted that businesses required clarity, consistency, fairness and predictability for investments to thrive in Nigeria’s economy.”
- Explaining why tax structures must shift from theoretical concepts into practical operational tools, he urged “government to ensure that harmonisation of taxes become practical and measurable rather than remaining theoretical.”
What’s Next
- The roundtable will compile and generate practical recommendations to help shape a more balanced, efficient, and business-friendly tax environment.
- ACCI will continue policy dialogues and public enlightenment to ensure ongoing tax reforms succeed without imposing unnecessary burdens on MSMEs.
- Tax authorities will look to implement measures that improve strong institutional coordination across all levels of government.
Bottom Line
Warning that excessive compliance burdens and multiple overlapping taxes are choking businesses already battling inflation and high energy costs, the ACCI has called for careful implementation of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 to ensure taxation drives economic growth and protects vulnerable MSMEs rather than merely shrinking the tax base.
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