Oyedele Urges Nigerians to File Annual Tax Returns, Warns Against Non-Compliance

The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has urged Nigerians to comply with tax regulations by submitting their annual tax returns, stressing that the obligation applies to both individuals and employers.

Oyedele made the call during a webinar organised in partnership with the Joint Revenue Board and attended by human resource professionals, payroll administrators, chief financial officers, and tax managers.

Speaking during the session, which was later uploaded on YouTube on Friday, Oyedele noted that many Nigerians still fail to meet their self-assessment filing obligations.

“In terms of filing returns, you need to file annual returns as employers for your employees. Many of you must have done that already. If you haven’t, you have just a couple of days left to file those returns, including projections of how much you will pay your staff,” he said.

He also stated that individuals are required to file self-assessment tax returns, describing compliance levels across the country as poor.

“This is one area where we have been non-compliant in Nigeria. In many states, more than 90 per cent, even the most sophisticated states, cannot boast of 5 per cent filing returns,” Oyedele said.

The tax reform chairman clarified that employees cannot rely solely on tax deductions made by their employers to fulfil their legal obligations.

“Many people assume that if they are an employee and the employer has deducted pay, they don’t have to do anything. That is wrong. Both under the old and new tax laws, you must still file your returns,” he explained.

Oyedele, however, assured Nigerians that authorities are working to simplify the tax filing process to encourage wider participation.

“I’m sure the tax authorities, Joint Revenue Board, and various state internal revenue services are working on how to make this process simpler and easier. All of us must file our returns, including those earning low income. You must file returns by March 31 of the year in respect of the previous fiscal year,” he added.

He further disclosed that companies enjoying tax incentives now have additional disclosure responsibilities under the revised tax framework.

“Under the new tax law, if you operate a business as an enterprise and you enjoy certain incentives, you have the obligation to disclose those incentives.

“There’s a disclosure requirement for tax incentives that is not available to everybody as a general rule for taxpayers to disclose them when filing their tax returns or shortly after,” Oyedele stated.