New Tax act: Adeleke Pledges Fair, Transparent Tax System

Osun State Governor, Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, on Tuesday reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to building a fair, transparent and efficient tax system to drive sustainable development.

The retreat, organised by the Osun State Internal Revenue Service (OIRS), is holding at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, Oke-Pupa, Abere.

Adeleke who was represented by Hon. Teslim Igbalaye, the Secretary to the State Government described taxation as the most reliable and sustainable source of public revenue for any responsible government.

He commended the Osun Internal Revenue Service for convening the session at a critical time when strengthening revenue generation has become imperative for sustainable governance.

According to him, the state’s tax reform agenda is deliberate and people-centred, with a pro-business and investor-friendly framework that recognises the role of small and medium-scale enterprises in driving economic growth and job creation.

“Taxation, when properly structured and efficiently administered, provides the resources needed to build infrastructure, support social services, strengthen institutions and promote economic development.

“Our goal is balance. We seek to grow revenue without harming livelihoods and to build compliance without eroding trust.

“Our administration remains focused on translating revenue into tangible improvements in education, healthcare, infrastructure and social welfare across Osun State,” he said.

Speaking, the Special Adviser to Osun State Governor on Taxes, Hon. Kamarudeen Ajisafe described the retreat as a significant step towards ensuring a shared understanding and successful implementation of the new tax law.

He noted that the reform goes beyond legislative changes, stressing that it is a strategic initiative aimed at simplifying tax compliance, broadening the tax base and aligning fiscal policies with the realities of a growing economy.

He called on all stakeholders to remain committed to making the new tax law a tool for progress, prosperity and shared responsibility in Osun State and Nigeria at large.

However, the Acting Chairman of the Osun Internal Revenue Service (OIRS), Mr. Solanke Hamzat said the retreat designed to educate residents on the facts surrounding the new tax reform, their responsibilities under the law, and the opportunities available to taxpayers.

Hamzat stressed that discussions would also focus on identifying opportunities to grow Osun State’s internally generated revenue while addressing revenue gaps arising from exemptions granted to low-income earners.

He said, “We are here to have a retreat which we call stakeholders engagement and implementation of the 2025 tax reform act. The residents will be very much more aware of the facts surrounding the new tax reform, they will also have the opportunity to know their responsibility, what are they expected to do, what is expected of them in terms of complying to the law and the opportunities they can take from the law.

“The retreat or stakeholders engagement is a three layer, the first one which we’re having right now is with the government personalities so the government people talking about the Internal Revenue Service, revenue generating

“The next day is going to be formal sector, private organization sector, (the banks, business owners, industry owners, captains of industry owners). They will know what is their right and responsibilities in terms of tax and revenue, where they can leverage to have benefits and where they can also leverage to have reliefs especially through recapitalization.

“Then the third day, we have the key informal sectors where we have artisans, the traders men and women, the iyalojas and babalojas, other people who are doing trading,” he added.