MAN urges Lagos to harmonise tax code

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has urged the Lagos State Government to become the first state to publish a harmonised tax code aligned with the new tax laws, saying the move will significantly reduce compliance costs for manufacturers.

Speaking on Thursday at the 55th Annual General Meeting of the association’s Apapa Branch in Lagos, MAN President, Francis Meshioye, pushed for stronger safeguards against multiple taxation and levies under the new tax regime.

Meshioye called on Lagos to provide manufacturers with a single system for tax assessment and payment to eliminate duplication and uncertainty across government agencies and levels of administration.

“The 2025 Tax Law gives us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset this. The law seeks to harmonise, digitise, and reduce friction. But for it to work for manufacturers, especially those in trade corridors like Apapa, we need deliberate safeguards,” he said.

He urged Lagos to publish a harmonised tax code that would provide one assessment authority and one payment portal for manufacturers.

“We urge Lagos State to be the first to publish a harmonised tax code aligned with the new law. One entity to assess, one portal to pay. This will cut compliance cost significantly for our members,” Meshioye said.

The MAN president said the reform would help address the multiple taxes and levies that manufacturers currently face across federal, state and local government levels: “In Apapa, taxation comes from everywhere. A truck moving raw materials from the port to Amuwo Odofin can be stopped by multiple agencies before it gets to the factory gate. That is in addition to corporate tax, VAT, and state levies.”

Meshioye also called for a “No-Tout Zone” policy in Apapa, Amuwo and Kirikiri, saying the government must protect legitimate revenue collection from illegal levies imposed by non-state actors along industrial and port corridors.

He said the Lagos State Government should also work with the Nigerian Ports Authority and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to create a single bill for port-related charges so that manufacturers would not pay multiple fees to move one container.

The MAN president noted that the association was not seeking tax exemptions but wanted manufacturers’ paid taxes to translate into better infrastructure and security.

“We are asking that the tax we pay translates to motorable roads, working drainage, and security in our clusters. That is the social contract,” Meshioye said.

He further urged the Joint Revenue Board to ensure that states did not use the new tax regime to introduce additional taxes but instead consolidated and simplified existing obligations.

In a separate interview, Meshioye said effective implementation of the new tax laws would expand the tax base while easing the burden on compliant businesses.

“We want an effective implementation of that new law that we have set up, that took effect from January this year. You see, we have had multiple taxes in the past. We had them on multiple levels,” he said.

He said sub-national governments needed to domesticate and fully implement the new framework for manufacturers to enjoy the intended relief.

“And once it’s signed, the sub-national should see it is fully and effectively implemented. If this is done, the body will be laser-focused. Many other people are not paying taxes to come to the tax net, and the relief that is expected to give to the manufacturing business will be achieved,” Meshioye said.

He said the impact of the reform should become measurable through increased business expansion, investment and employment: “So, if it is implemented and you are finding that businesses are expanding, more investment is coming up, and employment level is reduced, then we will have done something.”

The Chairman of MAN, Apapa Branch, Raphael Danilola, said multiple taxation, regulatory burdens, high interest rates, energy costs, insecurity and logistics challenges continued to constrain manufacturers.

“Ultimately, our concern is simple: how do we ensure that tax reform strengthens manufacturing competitiveness rather than adds another layer of pressure on businesses already operating in a challenging environment?” Danilola queried.

He urged the Lagos State Government to review the mandates of its agencies to eliminate duplication and harmonise national and state environmental laws to reduce compliance costs for manufacturers.

Danilola also called for the implementation of the new tax policies and assessment of their impact on state and local governments.