Tax Ombud: Multiple Taxes, Levies and Charges Are Increasing Costs and Complexity for Nigerian Businesses

# What happened At the 36th annual conference of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) in Lagos, the Tax Ombud and Chief Executive of the Office of the Tax Ombud, Dr. John Nwabueze, raised concerns about the cumulative burden of taxes, levies, fees and charges on Nigerian businesses. He was represented at the event by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Pete Iwegbu.

Dr. Nwabueze framed the issue around taxpayer confidence. He said revenue reform cannot succeed if businesses and citizens do not trust the system that collects taxes. His remarks focused on three linked areas:

• Overlap and duplication. Multiple authorities are imposing taxes, levies and charges that can duplicate one another. That increases compliance costs and makes it harder for businesses—especially small firms—to know which obligations apply.

• Legal reforms and clarity. The federal government enacted four Tax Acts in 2025 intended to modernise revenue administration and improve coordination. Transition guidelines were issued, but Nwabueze questioned whether small businesses understand their obligations under the new framework and whether companies can reliably identify which charges legitimately apply.

• Digital transformation and trust. Nwabueze said fintech and digital payments have transformed transactions, but digital systems do not automatically create trust. For tax administration, digitalisation should make processes simpler, more accessible and more responsive. It should also protect personal data and enable traceability and timely redress when problems arise.

# What the Tax Ombud recommended Dr. Nwabueze outlined specific areas that need attention to restore and build taxpayer confidence:

• Simplify digital tax administration so it reduces complexity rather than merely replacing paper with screens.

• Clarify which taxes and levies apply to which taxpayers, and harmonise rules to cut duplication across authorities.

• Strengthen public awareness and taxpayer education so businesses understand obligations and dispute routes.

• Ensure accessible channels of engagement and effective institutional responses when taxpayers contest assessments or administrative decisions.

• Maintain enforcement against tax evasion while protecting the rights of compliant taxpayers.

# Why this matters for businesses and revenue The core issue is economic confidence. If taxpayers believe the system treats them unfairly or is too complex, compliance will fall and enforcement costs will rise. That can depress investment and distort competition between compliant and non-compliant firms. Nwabueze framed taxpayer rights and responsibilities as inseparable: citizens must pay lawful taxes, but the state must provide clear, fair and technology-enabled systems that make compliance feasible.

# Immediate context and follow-up The Tax Ombud spoke against a backdrop of ongoing public debate about the new tax regime and implementation challenges. The federal transition guidelines for the 2025 Tax Acts are intended to smooth the move to the new legal framework, but businesses and tax professionals continue to call for clearer guidance, harmonised rules and certainty in application.

# Practical takeaway for business leaders