Overview
IntroductionTaxes play a crucial role in shaping a nation’s economic landscape, as they significantly impact the nation’s fiscal health and long-term growth. They are a critical tool for government revenue generation, providing the government with income to fund infrastructure, social programmes, and public services. However, despite the critical contributions of taxes to revenue generation, Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio of 13.5% (as of 2024) remains the lowest in Africa. These low figures reflect deep-seated challenges, one of which is the inefficient and fragmented tax administration, as well as arbitrary assessments by tax authorities, which have negatively impacted taxpayer compliance.
In response to these issues, the President signed into law the Nigeria Tax Reform Acts aimed at enhancing revenue generation and collection, simplifying compliance procedures, and ensuring effective tax administration. Among the Acts is the Joint Revenue (Establishment) Board Act, 2025 (JRBA), which introduces a novel provision, the Office of the Tax Ombud, a provision previously absent from Nigeria’s tax laws. The Office of the Tax Ombud is an independent and impartial arbiter empowered, among other functions, to review and resolve tax-related complaints. This article, therefore, examines the powers, duties, and limitations of the Office of the Tax Ombud in Nigeria as set out in the JRBA.
The Office of the Tax Ombud Under the Joint Revenue Board ActAn ombudsman is an independent official who receives complaints, investigates, recommends corrective action, and issues reports. Generally, the Tax Ombud’s mandate across jurisdictions is to “review and address any complaint by a taxpayer regarding a service matter or a procedural or administrative matter.”In other words, the Office of the Tax Ombud serves as an intermediary between taxpayers and tax authorities. The establishment of the Office of the Tax Ombud across jurisdictions such as Tanzania, South Africa, the United States of America, and now, Nigeria reflects a global recognition of the need for an independent taxpayer protection.
The Joint Revenue Board Act establishes the “Office of the Tax Ombud” in Nigeria to serve as an independent and impartial arbiter for reviewing and resolving complaints related to taxes, levies, regulatory fees, charges, customs duties, or excise matters. The President appoints the Tax Ombud and serves as the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of the Office of the Tax Ombud, holding office for a term of four years, renewable for an additional four years.
