Nigeria's Joint Revenue Board Streamlines Taxes for 21 States

On October 28, Olusegun Adesokan, the Executive Secretary of the Joint Revenue Board, announced that 21 states in Nigeria have adopted a tax harmonization framework designed to reduce the burden of overlapping levies on traders and transporters. This framework consolidates over 100 subnational taxes and levies into nine categories, which include income tax, stamp duties, property tax, road tax, haulage levy, economic development levy, harmonised levy, user charge, and daily ticket.

The initiative aims to address the issue of repeated payment demands that increase delivery costs for businesses transporting goods across state boundaries. Adesokan stated that the board is collaborating with police and state revenue authorities to combat illegal collections along transport routes.

The adopting states include Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Plateau, Yobe, and Zamfara, while Lagos was not included. Adesokan advised traders to verify any questionable payment notices with the relevant revenue authority.