*Declares 21 states have adopted harmonised tax, levy laws as authorities search to dismantle a number of costs amid 27% rise in income
*FG, states plan joint audits to chop compliance prices, disruption to companies, seeks to finish roadside tax assortment, others
James Emejo in Abuja
Executive Secretary, Joint Revenue Board (JRB), Mr. Olusegun Adesokan, has stated disclosed that the implementation of the brand new tax regime has yielded early fruits with a 27 per cent improve in tax income from 23 states within the First Half of the 12 months (H1 2026) in comparison with the corresponding interval of 2025.
He stated the efficiency mirrored a shift in direction of bringing extra high-income earners into the tax internet whereas lowering the burden on lower-income taxpayers.
The JRB boss spoke throughout an engagement with journalists in Abuja.
He stated the reform was additionally starting to enhance income administration via the harmonisation of taxes and levies, the introduction of a National Tax Identification system and nearer coordination amongst federal and state tax authorities.
Adesokan stated 21 states had adopted the harmonised taxes and levies laws as of October 27, with the National Economic Council (NEC) figuring out the initiative as one of its priorities for implementation inside a 90-day motion plan.
The figures present an early indication of the reform’s potential to enhance home income mobilisation with out imposing extra tax burdens on low-income households and companies.
However, the board acknowledged that a number of taxation, unauthorised collections and confusion over official authorities costs stay widespread challenges.
21 states transfer to harmonise levies
Adesokan stated the harmonisation initiative was designed to consolidate quite a few taxes, levies and costs imposed by subnational authorities into 9 broad classes, lowering duplication and making compliance extra predictable for companies and people.
He stated the board developed the framework in collaboration with the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms and had circulated it to states for adoption.
He acknowledged that unauthorised roadside collections remained an issue, together with calls for by people and teams claiming to symbolize authorities authorities.
He stated the JRB was working with the police and state income authorities on a coordinated enforcement mechanism to handle the apply.
According to him, the board additionally deliberate to accentuate efforts to get rid of unlawful collections affecting transport operators and merchants, though Adesokan didn’t give a definitive graduation date for the proposed enforcement measures.
He urged companies to confirm suspicious calls for with the related tax authorities and be certain that funds had been made into authorised authorities accounts fairly than accounts belonging to personal consultants or collectors.
The listed the states to incorporate Kebbi, Niger, Kaduna, Plateau, Ekiti, Benue, Zamfara, Enugu, Kogi, Abia and Kwara.
Others are Nasarawa, Anambra, Gombe, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Delta, Yobe, Ondo and Borno.
Low-income earners get tax aid
Furthermore, Adesokan stated knowledge obtained from 23 states confirmed that a mean of 92 per cent of earnings earners lined by the evaluation now paid decrease or zero private earnings tax underneath the brand new framework.
He stated the adjustments had been supposed to depart more cash within the arms of lower-income earners whereas making certain that people with better monetary capability contributed a fairer share.
Under the revised private earnings tax construction, the primary N800,000 of annual taxable earnings is taxed at zero per cent, whereas larger earnings bands appeal to progressively larger charges, reaching 25 per cent for the highest band.
Adesokan careworn that the reform was guided by the precept of taxing prosperity fairly than poverty, including that the federal government had not launched new taxes via the framework.
He acknowledged issues about merchants and small companies who continued to complain about tax calls for regardless of the exemptions offered underneath the brand new guidelines.
According to him, insufficient public consciousness and the persistence of unauthorised collectors had contributed to the confusion.
He stated the board would proceed its public training marketing campaign to make clear which taxpayers had been exempt from private earnings tax and distinguish official taxes from different authorised costs.
However, the 92 per cent determine pertains to the private earnings tax evaluation offered by the board and doesn’t qualify as an exemption from each kind of taxation, together with relevant consumption taxes.
National tax ID to curb a number of taxation
Adesokan stated the National Tax Identification system was one other main part of the reform, offering a standard means of figuring out taxpayers throughout federal and state jurisdictions.
The system is predicted to hyperlink current taxpayer data and allow authorities to confirm tax compliance with out requiring people and companies to repeatedly set up their standing in numerous states.
He stated the association would cut back administrative bottlenecks, significantly for people conducting enterprise or property transactions outdoors their state of residence.
He acknowledged that JRB was additionally selling uniform tax administration pointers and information-sharing preparations to enhance transparency and voluntary compliance.
Joint audits deliberate for companies
In an additional measure to scale back the price of compliance, Adesokan stated the JRB was making ready to facilitate joint tax audits involving NRS and state inner income companies.
He stated the association would allow related authorities to coordinate their examinations of companies fairly than visiting the identical firms individually at completely different instances.
Under the proposed method, state authorities may look at private earnings tax compliance, together with employers’ obligations, whereas the federal income service would tackle the corporate’s related federal tax obligations.
Adesokan stated coordinated audits would cut back disruption to enterprise operations, paperwork and the time firms spend responding to separate tax assessments.
He added that the JRB’s mandate was to coordinate and harmonise income administration fairly than gather taxes straight.
Implementation challenges stay
Meanwhile, regardless of the early progress, there have been issues about continued roadside collections, conflicting calls for from federal and state tax authorities, and the restricted visibility of public advantages from taxes paid.
Adesokan stated the board was working to enhance collaboration between income businesses, together with via joint audits and extra constant administration of tax legal guidelines.
He additionally acknowledged complaints about levies imposed on pensioners and residents within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), including that the related authorized provisions could be examined.
The JRB chief maintained that the last word check of the reform wouldn’t be the quantity of taxes collected alone, however whether or not companies may broaden, create jobs and contribute to financial development with out being weighed down by a number of and unpredictable costs.
No extra roadblocks, money assortment
Adesokan added that JRB at its 158th assembly banned the gross sales of stickers and symbols nationwide.
He stated, “This means motorists will no longer be subjected to the purchase of irrelevant documents before transporting goods from one part of the country to another. Thereby reducing the cost of farm produce.”
He defined that the prohibition was supported by the mannequin Harmonised Taxes & Levies Law and the Presumptive Tax Regulations, 2026.
