Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has commenced preparations for the 2027 Federal Government budget with the inauguration of a subcommittee to develop an implementable Finance Bill.
The Subcommittee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms was inaugurated in Abuja on Wednesday to review the implementation of existing fiscal and tax reforms and develop proposals that respond to current economic realities.
The Finance Bill, which usually accompanies the annual budget, provides the legislative framework for fiscal policies and measures contained in the budget.
Inaugurating the committee, Oyedele charged its members, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Raymond Omachi, with Albert Folorunsho as co-chair, to ensure that the 2027 Finance Bill addresses emerging economic realities.
He said the exercise was not intended to rewrite the 2025 reforms but to preserve their fundamental principles while learning from implementation and responding to new developments.
Oyedele said, “The Finance Bill 2027 should not be seen as just another annual legislative exercise. Our task is not to rewrite the 2025 reforms, but to preserve their fundamental principles while learning from implementation and responding to new economic realities.
“We must ask where implementation has revealed ambiguity, where unintended consequences have emerged, where compliance can be simplified, and where we can improve investment and competitiveness.”
The minister disclosed that the public call for inputs into the 2027 Finance Bill had attracted more than 134 online memoranda, in addition to numerous hard-copy submissions.
He said the submissions underscored the importance of giving Nigerians an opportunity to contribute to the shaping of fiscal policy.
Oyedele described the committee’s assignment as another step in Nigeria’s fiscal and tax reform process, saying it represented a shift from fundamental reform to continuous improvement.
According to him, “No serious reform ends with the enactment of legislation. Good reform is a process, not an event.
“The real test begins when the law meets the economy, as businesses interpret it, administrators implement it, investors respond to it, and citizens experience it.
“Implementation inevitably reveals areas requiring clarification, refinement or further reform. That is why we are here today.”
Public inputs
Oyedele said the public call for submissions deliberately extended beyond taxation to areas including fiscal policy and management, public financial management, debt, transparency, capital markets and cross-border capital flows.
“Our fiscal system is more than taxation. It is how we raise revenue, spend, borrow, manage assets, coordinate institutions, and drive inclusive growth,” he said.
The minister said businesses, investors, professional bodies, civil society organisations, academia and citizens were invited to submit practical and evidence-based proposals.
He charged the committee to consider the submissions on their merits, guided by evidence and national interest.
Oyedele said the committee should consider the wider economic implications of proposed measures, noting that an intervention designed to raise revenue could impose higher costs on the broader economy.
“The government must optimise the whole economy, not merely achieve a single objective,” he said.
He also directed the committee to prioritise competitiveness and productivity by considering measures to attract investment, expand production, promote competitive manufacturing and encourage formalisation.
Oyedele urged the committee to simplify the fiscal system, noting that complexity increased compliance costs and created room for discretion and arbitrage.
Wider mandate
Beyond the 2027 Finance Bill, the committee is mandated to review the Deduction of Tax at Source Regulations 2024 in light of the new tax laws.
It is also expected to prepare revised Withholding Tax Regulations and review the Companies Income Tax (Significant Economic Presence) Order 2020.
The subcommittee has six weeks to submit its report to the minister.
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