The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has reported that the nation’s tax collections surge by 113 per cent in less than three years, rising from N12.3 trillion in 2023 to N27.1 trillion as of July 2026.
The Service, in an internal report on the state of the Nigerian economy released on Sunday, attributed the increase in the tax revenues primarily to the digitalization of the tax system the recent enactment of four new tax reform legislations, the transformation of its operations and an Executive Order issued to block leakages in the tax system.
It maintained that with the fiscal reform measures by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, the nation had been moving from a period of severe macroeconomic distress towards a more stable and resilient
The revenue agency stated: “Tax collections more than doubled from N12.3tn in 2023 to N27.1tn as of July 2026 with the digitisation of tax systems, four new tax reform laws, the transformation of the revenue service and an executive order that closed loopholes in the system. The Nigerian economy has moved decisively from acute macroeconomic distress toward a more stable and increasingly resilient footing.”
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It attributed the boost in revenue accruals to the fiscal reforms being implemented by the present administration despite inheriting four major economic distortions which, it noted, had continued to undermine government revenue and economic growth.
The NRS listed the challenges as including a fiscally unsustainable fuel subsidy regime, an opaque forex system that discouraged investment, a non-performing oil sector, and a tax base far below its potential.
Noting that the initial impact of the reforms created significant economic difficulties but despite that, the country’s major economic indicators had subsequently begun to improve.
According to the revenue agency, falling inflation, a turnaround in the balance of payments, increased crude oil production, the emergence of Nigeria as a net exporter of petroleum products and the improving tax collections remain the evidence of the recovery.
The report also highlighted an increase in the minimum wage, saying it had doubled between 2023 and 2026.
Similarly, it cited estimates by the United Nations Children’s Fund, which showed that the number of out-of-school children had declined from 20 million to 18.3 million following government policies and incentives, to justify the improved performance of the economy
The NRS also identified the Federal Government’s Naira-for-crude arrangement with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other domestic refineries as contributing to a major shift in Nigeria’s petroleum trade position, by moving the country from being a net importer of petroleum products to becoming a net exporter after decades of dependence on imports.
This is even as it also pointed to positive developments in the nation’s capital market as another indication of improving economic confidence, noting that the market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange had risen from N30.36tn in 2023 to N161tn in 2026.
The report partly attributed the market rally to improved macroeconomic credibility, the recapitalisation of banks and a growing pool of domestic institutional investment.
According to the NRS report, Nigeria’s external reserves also rose during the period under review from $3.99bn in 2023 to $51.9bn as of July 2026 while the country’s balance of payments also moved from a $3.34bn deficit to a $2.38bn surplus in the first quarter of 2026.
The revenue service further reported that Nigeria’s trade position similarly recorded a significant improvement, moving from a marginal surplus of N44.7bn to N7.55tn in the first quarter of 2026.
