Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has urged Nigerians to comply with the law by filing their annual tax returns, stressing that tax compliance is compulsory for both employers and individual taxpayers.
Oyedele made the call during a webinar organised in partnership with the Joint Revenue Board for HR managers, payroll officers, chief financial officers, and tax managers. The webinar was shared on YouTube on Friday.
He noted that many Nigerians are still failing to file their self-assessment tax returns, despite legal requirements. According to him, employers are required to file annual tax returns for their employees, including projections of staff earnings and tax payments.
“Many of you must have done that already. If you haven’t, you only have a few days left to submit those returns,” he said.
Oyedele added that individual taxpayers also have a legal duty to file their own tax returns, pointing out that compliance levels remain extremely low across the country.
“This is one area where Nigeria has been largely non-compliant. In many states, even the most advanced ones, fewer than five per cent of taxpayers file returns,” he said.
He clarified that employees cannot assume their tax obligations are complete simply because their employers deduct taxes from their salaries.
“Many people think that once tax has been deducted from their pay, they don’t need to do anything else. That is not correct. Under both the old and the new tax laws, employees are still required to file their returns,” Oyedele explained.
He reassured taxpayers that efforts are being made to simplify the filing process nationwide.
“I am confident that tax authorities, the Joint Revenue Board, and state internal revenue services are working to make the process easier. Everyone must file returns, including low-income earners. Returns must be filed by March 31 each year for the previous fiscal year,” he said.
Oyedele also stated that companies benefiting from tax incentives are now required to disclose those incentives when filing their returns.
“Under the new tax law, businesses that enjoy tax incentives must declare them. There is now a disclosure requirement for such incentives when filing tax returns or shortly after,” he said.
He added that employers are required to file their annual tax returns by January 31 each year, covering employees’ earnings and tax deductions.
