Tax Ombudsman is to Protect Businesses from Harassment—Oyedele

Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has said that the creation of a new office of the Tax Ombudsman (OTO) is to protect businesses from harassment.

Oyedele, who spoke Sat the 24th Annual Conference of the Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) held in Lagos, said that the Tax Ombudsman, will serve as an independent body to mediate disputes and safeguard the rights of taxpayers.

“If anybody shows up to harass you, to collect tax, or to seal up your premises, you can call the Tax Ombudsman. They have the legal authority and obligation to protect your rights,” Oyedele stated.

He said that the new tax regime will favour compliant and formalised enterprises while protecting small and informal businesses from undue pressure and harassment by tax officials.

He explained that the ongoing reforms are people-centred and designed to reward compliance, promote fairness, and support economic growth rather than overburden citizens or businesses.

During a panel session themed “The New Tax Law and You,” Oyedele urged entrepreneurs, especially small business owners, to formalise their operations to benefit from a range of incentives embedded in the new tax framework taking effect from January 2026.

“We started the tax and fiscal reform by looking at how people do business, how those businesses grow, and how finance is placed,” he explained. “You can’t knock on the door and say, ‘Tax me.’ Let’s have a conversation on how to create a business that can pay corporate tax. So, the reforms are people-centric.”

According to Oyedele, small companies with an annual turnover of ₦100m or less will enjoy a zero per cent corporate tax rate, in line with the government’s goal of allowing small businesses to expand before being taxed.

“If you run a small company where your annual turnover is ₦100m or less, your corporate tax rate will be zero per cent. What is even more interesting is that the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) will register 250,000 small companies free of charge,” he added.

He also disclosed that the reforms would ensure fairness in value-added tax (VAT) administration, adding that critical sectors such as food, water, education, pharmaceuticals, and medical services will be fully exempted from VAT from next year.

“From next year, January 1, this bottle of water will be zero-rated for VAT. The same explanation applies to food, education, pharmaceutical, and medical services,” he said.

Oyedele also explained that the government’s decision to exempt essential goods and services from VAT was informed by data showing that low-income Nigerian households spend nearly 80 per cent of their income on food, health, rent, education, and transportation.

“If people spend their entire income on five basic items, food, education, health, rent, and transport, then we must remove the taxes on those,” he emphasized.