Title: A Literature Review Perspective to the Challenges Facing the Nigerian Revenue Service in the Implementation of New and Existing Tax Laws
Authors: Isaac Aondofa Agber; Nicholas A. Onyia; Rachel M. Iorkumba; Peters A. Shakumeh
Volume: 10
Issue: 2
Pages: 1-6
Publication Date: 2026/02/28
Abstract:
Administration of taxes in Nigeria is a persistent challenge that needs to be corrected. The growing demand for the country's fiscal and declining revenue has exacerbated, and calls for an effective tax administration. The bodies charged with revenue collection, such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), now called Nigeria Revenue Service (Nigeria Revenue Service (establishment) Act 2025), and other authorities that are charged with revenue collection have introduced new tax laws and reforms under successive administrations. The aim of these laws and reform initiatives is to broaden the tax base, ensuring compliance, transparency, accountability and streamlining revenue mobilization and collection. Although there have been remarkable improvements in the amount of revenue generated arising from the reforms, such as the VAT and digital tax initiatives, most of these new tax laws usually suffer institutional, administrative, technological, and socio-cultural barriers or bottlenecks. Arising from the foregoing, this review is carefully written out to examine and analyze the major obstacles that are adversely affecting the Nigeria Revenue Service. These comes from double taxation and inefficiencies, weak tax administration and enforcement; evasion of tax and corruption; difficulty in taxing the informal sector; barriers from technology and digitalization; and low tax morale attributable to governance inadequacies. The review paper borrows heavily from recent papers on tax administration in Nigeria, and has proposed practical and workable solutions, that if implemented would enhance the administration of taxes in Nigeria. The paper concludes that while tax reforms have improved revenue outcomes, sustainable implementation requires institutional coherence, technological modernization, transparency, and public trust.