John Nwabueze: Tax ombudsman working with JRB, state governments to address multiple taxation issues

John Nwabueze, chief executive of the office of the tax ombudsman, says the agency is working with the Joint Revenue Board (JRB), states and local government authorities to address the problem of multiple taxation in the country.

Nwabueze spoke to journalists on Friday on the progress recorded by the office since its establishment.

He said the issue of multiple taxation was raised during a recent meeting with professional bodies, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).

Nwabueze said multiple taxation has been in existence for a long time, including before President Bola Tinubu assumed office, but had not received adequate attention.

“Multiple taxation has been there for a very long time, even before President Tinubu came into office. It’s been there, and for a very long time, nobody has ever thought about addressing that issue,” the tax ombudsman said.

“Mr. President came up with this idea of the office of the tax ombudsman to begin to address it.”

He said resolving the problem requires collaboration among the office of the tax ombudsman, the JRB, state governments and local government authorities, as some cases involve multiple levels of government.

According to Nwabueze, the executive secretary of the JRB also addressed the issue during the stakeholder engagement and said the board was working on a template to tackle multiple taxation.

‘MULTIPLE TAXATION IS A SYSTEMATIC ISSUE’

The tax ombudsman described multiple taxation as a systemic issue that cannot be resolved overnight, given the need to bring relevant authorities from the 36 states and local governments together to develop a common approach.

Nwabueze said the office of the tax ombud would also engage stakeholders across the six geopolitical zones through roadshows and workshops.

“As I go around the country to engage the stakeholders, we are going to begin what I will call a roadshow workshop across the six zones,” he said.

“We will engage the key players, including the states and local governments. I intend to address that and continue to invite them to come to the table to see how they can key into the president’s agenda to end multiple taxation.”

Tinubu, on November 4, appointed Nwabueze as the tax ombudsman, in line with the provisions of the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (establishment) Act, 2025, while the office of the tax ombud of Nigeria commenced full operations on January 1.