21 States Pass Harmonised Tax Laws to End Multiple Taxation

Twenty-one Nigerian states have passed harmonised tax laws aimed at ending multiple levies, illegal collections and tax roadblocks. The Joint Revenue Board said the legislation is meant to reduce overlapping charges that raise business costs and affect consumer prices.

JRB Executive Secretary Olusegun Adesokan spoke in Abuja on Wednesday, October 28, 2026. He said the reforms would promote transparency, simplify revenue administration and protect businesses from arbitrary taxation.

Nine approved tax categories

The framework was developed with the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms. It consolidates more than 100 subnational taxes, levies and charges into nine approved categories. The categories are income tax, stamp duty, property tax, road tax, development levy, economic development levy, annual levies, user charges and other approved charges.

Adesokan said the laws prohibit the sale of revenue stickers and emblems, unauthorised cash collections and the establishment of tax roadblocks. Violators will face legal consequences. The JRB is working with the police and state revenue authorities to set up a national task force against illegal revenue collectors. The task force will focus on highways, transport corridors and local government areas where traders and commercial transport operators face repeated payment demands.

The board acknowledged that passing the legislation does not automatically eliminate illegal collections.

Revenue rises to N2.2 trillion

Internally generated revenue across 23 states rose from N1.75 trillion in the first half of 2025 to N2.2 trillion in the same period of 2026. That is about 27 per cent growth. Adesokan linked the increase to improved tax administration, economic activity and broader taxpayer participation. The 23-state revenue figures are separate from the 21 states that passed the harmonised legislation and do not establish that the new laws caused the increase.

Take-home pay and tax IDs

The reforms also offer personal income tax relief for eligible salary earners. Adesokan said an individual earning N20 million annually could see monthly take-home pay rise from about N1.281 million to N1.362 million. That is an extra N81,000 monthly, or N972,000 annually, depending on applicable deductions such as pension contributions, mortgage interest and qualifying rent relief.

The JRB is introducing a unified national Tax Identification system to improve taxpayer verification and reduce duplicate documentation. More than 100 million tax identification numbers have been generated. Adesokan said digitalisation, improved coordination and stronger enforcement will determine whether the reforms deliver meaningful relief to Nigerian businesses and households.

Fuel tax clarification

The federal government has dismissed reports that it plans to introduce a fuel tax in Nigeria. It described the claims as misleading and said the levy is not on its current agenda. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, made the clarification in a post on his official X account on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.