The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has called on Nigerians to comply with the law by filing their annual tax returns, stressing that the responsibility applies to both employers and individual taxpayers.
Oyedele made the call during a webinar organised for HR managers, payroll officers, chief financial officers and tax managers, in partnership with the Joint Revenue Board. The webinar was shared on YouTube on Friday.
He noted that while some organisations comply with employer obligations, many are yet to meet the legal deadline.
“In terms of filing returns, you need to file annual returns as employers for your employees. Many of you must have done that already. If you haven’t, you have just a couple of days left to file those returns, including projections of how much you will pay your staff,” he said.
Turning to individual taxpayers, Oyedele expressed concern over widespread non-compliance with self-assessment requirements across the country.
“This is one area where we have been non-compliant in Nigeria. In many states, more than 90%—even the most sophisticated states—cannot boast of 5% filing returns,” he stated.
He clarified that tax obligations do not end with deductions made by employers, warning against a common misconception among salaried workers.
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“Many people assume that if they are an employee and the employer has deducted pay, they don’t have to do anything. That is wrong. Both under the old and new tax laws, you must still file your returns,” Oyedele explained.
The tax reform committee chairman assured Nigerians that efforts are underway to simplify the filing process and encourage compliance nationwide.
“I’m sure the tax authorities, joint revenue boards, and various state internal revenue services are working on how to make this process simpler and easier. All of us must file our returns, including those earning low income. You must file returns by 31st March of the year in respect of the previous fiscal year,” he said.
Oyedele also highlighted new disclosure requirements for businesses benefiting from tax incentives, noting that transparency is now mandatory under the reformed tax framework.
“Under the new tax law, if you operate a business as an enterprise and you enjoy certain incentives, you have the obligation to disclose those incentives. There’s a disclosure requirement for tax incentives that is not available to everybody as a general rule for taxpayers—to disclose them when filing their tax returns or shortly after,” he added.