Key Takeaways
- Joint Revenue Board Executive Secretary Olusegun Adesokan said 21 states have enacted the Model Harmonised Taxes and Levies Law to curb multiple taxation.
- The law consolidates more than 100 existing taxes and levies into nine categories to address overlapping charges imposed by federal, state and local governments.
- Adesokan said the board was working with police and state revenue authorities to establish enforcement against unauthorised collectors, particularly those operating along highways.
Twenty-one states have enacted the Model Harmonised Taxes and Levies Law to curb multiple taxation, end illegal revenue collection and simplify tax administration across Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary of the Joint Revenue Board (JRB), Olusegun Adesokan, disclosed this earlier today, October 28, at a press briefing at the board’s headquarters in Abuja. He said 15 other states were yet to adopt the law as of Tuesday evening.
The legislation, developed in collaboration with the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, consolidates more than 100 existing taxes and levies into nine categories to address overlapping charges imposed by the federal, state and local governments.
The nine categories are income tax, stamp duties, property tax, road tax, haulage levy, economic development levy, harmonised levy, user charge and daily ticket.
The 21 states that have enacted the law are Kebbi, Kaduna, Zamfara, Ekiti, Enugu, Abia, Anambra, Gombe, Adamawa, Yobe, Borno, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Ondo.
Adesokan acknowledged that multiple taxation and the harassment of traders and transporters remained widespread despite the reform.
“We know the problem exists, and we are working to fix it. We may not be able to clear everything completely today, but as time goes on, we are working on it,” he said.
He said the board was working with the police and state revenue authorities to establish an enforcement structure against unauthorised collectors, particularly those operating along highways.
According to him, illegal roadside collections increase transportation costs, contributing to higher food prices and the rising cost of goods.
A presentation at the briefing showed that the board’s 158th meeting had approved a nationwide ban on the sale of revenue stickers and emblems, alongside a zero-tolerance policy for roadblocks and cash collection.
Adesokan said enforcement would begin soon but warned that dismantling practices entrenched over several decades would require sustained intervention.
