Nigeria has fewer than 10 million active individual taxpayers, highlighting the country’s narrow tax base, according to Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee.
Oyedele said this on Tuesday while delivering a keynote address at the Tax Reform Summit 2026 in Lagos, themed “From Reforms to Results: The Lagos Implementation Roadmap, Creating a Tax Environment that Works for All.”
The summit was organised by the Office of the Special Adviser on Taxation and Revenue in collaboration with the Lagos State Treasury Office.
According to Oyedele, improving the quality of data for fiscal and economic planning is important to expanding the tax net, particularly in Lagos State.
He said reliable databases covering property registers, individual taxpayers and fiscal operations were essential for effective revenue mobilisation.
“In Nigeria today, the number of active individual taxpayers is under 10 million for the whole country. I think that is the number we should have for Lagos State alone, and we need to make that possible,” he said, adding that meaningful tax reform cannot be achieved without credible and comprehensive data.
The tax czar also highlighted the significant revenue potential of property taxation, describing it as one of the most stable but underutilised sources of income for states and local governments.
He said Lagos could generate up to ₦1 trillion annually from property tax if the sector’s potential is fully harnessed.
He explained that if just two million properties in Lagos were taxable, with an average value of ₦100 million and a modest tax rate of 0.5 per cent, the state could raise ₦1 trillion yearly.
According to him, such revenue could be reinvested in infrastructure and public services, creating a cycle of growth and increased property values.
The tax reform committee chairman stressed that success in property taxation depends on proper property enumeration, accurate valuation, transparent administration and predictable enforcement.
He urged Lagos State to lead by example in adopting harmonized tax laws and strengthening legal frameworks for revenue-collecting agencies.