In a move to protect the rights of millions of Nigerian workers, the House of Representatives has called for a radical overhaul of the tax administration system to ensure the timely issuance of Tax Clearance Certificates (TCC) to employees in both the public and private sectors.
The resolution followed a motion by Hon. Adebayo Olusegun Balogun, who raised concerns over the “bureaucratic bottlenecks” preventing faithful taxpayers from accessing the very documents that prove their compliance with the law.
The PAYE Paradox
Under Section 81 of the Personal Income Tax Act, the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) system mandates employers to deduct taxes directly from salaries and remit them to the government. However, despite these automatic deductions, many Nigerians find it nearly impossible to obtain their TCC when needed.
Hon. Balogun noted that while Section 85 of the Act requires tax authorities to issue these certificates once liabilities are discharged, the lack of a defined timeline has left millions of workers in administrative limbo.
The House expressed deep concern over the “irregular means” employees are often forced to adopt due to these delays. The TCC is a critical document required for:
Processing official government documentation.
Securing financial transactions and bank loans.
Enrolling children in schools.
Contesting for political office.
The lawmaker lamented that many low-income earners are forced to “part with some money from the little they earn” to bribe officials or expedite the process. In more desperate cases, citizens have reportedly resorted to “sourcing or borrowing” certificates just to meet urgent deadlines.
To restore integrity to the tax system and ease the burden on the Nigerian workforce, the House passed a resolution seeking to harmonize the process across the federation.
The House urged State Inland Revenue Services to ensure that TCCs for all PAYE employees are issued no later than three months after the end of the preceding tax year.
The Committee on Finance has been mandated to interface with the Joint Tax Board (JTB) and the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) to develop a unified, nationwide framework for automated and timely issuance.
The Committee is expected to report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
By setting a clear three-month window, the House aims to eliminate the “administrative inefficiencies” that have long plagued Nigeria’s tax offices, ensuring that those who contribute to the nation’s revenue are not penalized by the system they fund.
