THE 2025 TAX REFORM ACTS AND TAXPAYER PROTECTION IN NIGERIA: A TREATISE ON THE TAXPAYERS’ BILL OF RIGHTS.

Abstract

The study examined the 2025 Tax Reform Acts and their implications for taxpayer protection in Nigeria and made a case for Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights (TBoR) within the country’s evolving fiscal framework. After the analysis, the study found that the reforms introduced significant innovations, including the establishment of the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO), improved dispute resolution mechanisms, clearer compliance procedures, and broader recognition of taxpayer rights such as the rights to information, privacy, objection, appeal, refund, confidentiality, and fair hearing. The paper further found, however, that despite these advancements, the reforms remained largely revenue-driven and insufficiently matched by corresponding governmental accountability in the utilisation of tax revenue. To this end, the study recommended the formal codification of a comprehensive Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, greater institutional transparency, strengthened enforcement of taxpayer protections, development of a Service Charter by OTO and a more purposive judicial interpretation of socio-economic rights. The paper concluded that while the 2025 Tax Reform Acts represented a major step towards a modern and rights conscious tax administration system in Nigeria, the effectiveness and legitimacy of the reforms would ultimately depend on the State’s commitment to accountability, reciprocity, and the practical enforcement of taxpayer protections.