Eko Club Lecture: Adedeji Urges Nigerians to Study 2025 Tax Law Before Passing Judgment

The Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, has renewed his appeal to Nigerians to devote time to study the contents of the new tax law before passing judgment or taking any uninformed position on it.

He, however, said that it was unfortunate that some Nigerians joined the bandwagon of those who outrightly criticised and condemned the new tax law since the idea was mooted by the Federal Government.

Dr. Adedeji made this appeal at the Eko Club Public Lecture held at the Blessings Hall within the premises of the Club in Surulere, Lagos.

The theme of the lecture was “Fiscal Federalism and the Year 2025 Tax Law Reform.”

The NRS Chairman, who was represented by Mr. Olufemi Olarinde, explained that the 2025 Tax Reform Law is the biggest tax policy statement ever implemented in the country.

According to him, many companies and individuals were exempted under the new tax law, adding that the minimum tax paid by companies that do not make profit has been totally abolished.

Dr. Zacch Adedeji further disclosed that 18 items were exempted and zero-rated in the 2025 tax reform, including medical services, towards encouraging productivity and, by extension, reducing the cost of goods and services in the country.

On his part, the Chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, Dr. Ayodele Subair, said that the whole idea behind the new tax was to increase the purchasing power of Nigerians.

Subair, who was represented by Tokunbo Akande, said that economic activities will receive a boost since the disposable income of the people will rise under the new tax law.

Just like the reaction from the Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Dr. Ayodele Subair was also not happy that Nigerians were not driving the narrative.

He, however, made it clear that Nigerians should rather voluntarily comply with the new tax law, pointing out that the cost of non-compliance is high.

Speaking further, he clarified that for every infraction, there is an administrative penalty that gives the authority the power to apply sanctions for any infraction without resorting to court or tribunal.

The LIRS boss noted that regular notices issued to companies and residents in the state were to help them understand the implications of non-compliance since tax looks more like a burden to some people.

The lead discussant at the public lecture, Professor Abiola Sanni, accused rich and influential Nigerians of being behind the move to mislead the public on the good intentions of the law.

Prof. Sanni, who is the Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, noted that the Tax Reform 2025 is a national reform and urged state governors to domesticate it for seamless implementation.

According to him, the new tax law will further empower the NRS, while commending Eko Club as the first elite club to lead discussions on the topic, which shows their connectivity with what is going on in society.

In his paper, broken into seven parts, the law expert clearly stated that the Federal Government still maintains a single-digit tax but failed to recommend solutions to states and non-state actors involved in the collection of illegal taxes, often described as multiple taxation.

The President of the Club, Surajudeen Adedeji Lawal, in his welcome address, said that the motive behind the event was to enlighten the public as part of its corporate social responsibility on the functionality of the tax law in order to put to rest erroneous impressions about it.

He later presented souvenirs to the guest speakers and discussants at the event, which attracted a high turnout of people from all walks of life.

Mr. Surajudeen Adedeji Lawal, who told the gathering that two things are certain, death and tax collection, regretted that Nigerians are not paying appropriate taxes and that the nation seems to have failed in generating revenue outside the oil sector.

The President concluded that the lecture was timely due to wide reactions to the new tax law, adding that the club deemed it fit to enlighten the public on salient positions of the law.

The forum also provided a platform for participants to ask relevant questions and clear their doubts on the new tax law.