The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has disclosed that the new tax reform law provides for up to 10-year incentives for haulage and logistics operators as part of efforts to ease the cost of doing business and promote investment in the transport sector.

Oyedele made this known while delivering the keynote address at the 2025 Haulage and Logistics Magazine Annual Conference and Exhibition (HAULMACE) held in Lagos on Thursday. He explained that the reform recognizes the transport and logistics sector including road haulage, electric, and CNG-powered vehicles as a priority area that will drive economic recovery and industrial growth.

“We have a lot of tax incentives in this new tax reform. The major one is what we call economic development incentive for priority sectors. So the tax law identifies priority sectors such as the transport sector for tax incentives, some of which include exemption for up to 10 years. There’s a whole schedule in the law where you can find all the sectors, the amount of investment you must make, and so on and so forth,” he stated.

He noted that the ongoing tax reforms represent the most significant overhaul of Nigeria’s fiscal framework since independence, aimed at eliminating outdated laws, simplifying tax administration, and reducing the burden on small and medium-scale businesses. According to him, “We use very old laws that, even when you want to pay tax, you have to struggle to figure out what the tax law is saying and how to go about it.”

Oyedele decried the existence of over 60 official and more than 200 unofficial levies imposed on businesses, especially in the transport sector. He linked the rising cost of haulage to the country’s high food inflation, saying such self-inflicted inefficiencies increase the cost of goods and services.

“These problems were not created for us by God or the United Nations or the West. They are self-inflicted by us. It is also us that will have to remove them,” he said.

“One transporter told us that he has to spend between N500,000 and N700,000 to move yam from the North to Lagos because he will be stopped multiple times to pay one levy or the other. He showed us 73 different stickers he had to buy. By the time the yam gets to its final destination, it becomes too expensive for the average Nigerian to purchase,” he added.

To address the issue, Oyedele said the new law introduces a tax harmonization framework that limits the number of levies payable by individuals and businesses to a single-digit figure. “All your taxes combined cannot be double digits. Once you reach nine, any other one is unconstitutional, and you don’t have to pay it,” he explained.

He further disclosed that the reforms outlaw physical tax collection barriers on roads and prohibit the collection of taxes in cash, saying these measures will curb extortion and improve revenue transparency. “Under these reforms, nobody should have to physically provide any hindrance, roadblock, or impediment because we want to collect tax. Cash collection worsens the corruption within the system,” he said.

Oyedele emphasized that the administration’s tax strategy seeks to shift the burden away from low-income earners while protecting vulnerable groups. “We are taxing poverty in Nigeria, and that must stop. No country can become wealthy by taxing its poorest people,” he said.

He also announced plans to establish a Tax Ombud Office to protect businesses and individuals from harassment by revenue officials. “The Ombud is meant to solve your problem quickly, within 24 to 48 hours, at no cost to you whatsoever,” he noted.

According to him, the tax reforms by the current administration are already yielding positive fiscal results, including improved reserves and reduced debt service. He, however, stressed that the next challenge is translating macroeconomic stability into better living conditions for citizens. “These reforms have been painful, but they have been necessary. The economy was stopped from declining, then it was stabilized, and now we are entering the growth phase that has to be inclusive to carry everybody along,” he said.

Earlier in his opening remarks, Convener of the conference and Chief Executive Officer of Haulage and Logistics Magazine, Alfred Okugbeni, described this edition of HAULMACE as timely, coming at a period when taxation and economic reforms dominate national discourse.

He said the theme, “Tax Reforms from Policy to Practice: Challenges and Opportunities for the Nigerian Haulage Industry,” was chosen to enable stakeholders examine how the newly enacted tax law could reshape the logistics and supply chain sector.

Okugbeni identified multiple taxation and illegal levies as major factors inflating the cost of transporting goods across the country. “If you look at inflation figures critically, food inflation is a major driver of overall inflation, and transportation is a major driver of food inflation. The reason is that a lot of taxes and levies happen along the way,” he said.

He described the reform as a groundbreaking initiative that signals government’s renewed commitment to fiscal responsibility but cautioned that its success will depend on proper execution. “There is usually a gap between policy initiatives and actual implementation. Our hope is that this reform will bridge that gap so that haulage operators can begin to have some relief from the burden of multiple taxation,” he said. (Daily Sun)