The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, has assured Nigerian taxpayers that the Federal Government would maintain open consultation with business owners and other stakeholders in the nation’s economy preparatory to the implementation of the new Tax Acts in 2026.
Edun, gave this hint while responding to a participant’s enquiry during the first edition of the Government-Private Sector Dialogue Series: South East Finance and SMEs Growth Roundtable, assuring that the present administration is committed to reforms that will make Nigeria’s fiscal environment more transparent, efficient, and fair to all players in the economy.
Recalling that the newly enacted Tax Acts were the result of collaboration among the three arms of government, professionals, and the general public, the minister confirmed that the new tax laws had been finalised and would take effect from January 1, 2026.
He explained: “The dialogue that you ask for, I can assure you, will play a big role. There needs to be dialogue. There must be dialogue. Even the feedback we are hearing here today shows the need for more explanation and clarification.
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“And when it comes to major reform, it’s all about timing, sequencing, and consultation.
“You know what it was. You know what it is. Now, we have more of a level playing field, more of a willing buyer, willing seller market, market pricing of petroleum products, and market pricing of foreign exchange. This relieves you of what you had to do before to import”, Edun added.
Noting that the government’s economic reforms are already yielding the desired results, particularly with improvements in the foreign exchange market and petroleum pricing system, the minister explained that the objective of the new framework wad to make Nigeria’s tax system fairer, clearer, and more efficient, while widening the tax net and reducing multiple payment points.
Edun told the participants that government was also working on the launch of the National Single Window Project, which would entail the adoption of automation, digitisation, and artificial intelligence to simplify trade processes and improve merchandize trade facilitation in the country.
He assured the business leaders at the forum that the dialogue on tax reform and trade facilitation would continue since many stakeholders had already called for the reforms to be sustained and strengthened.
The minister said: “This is an ongoing dialogue. There have been participants here who want to see this effort sustained, continued, and even built upon. I congratulate you, and you have our support anytime, any day.”
