adsThe N2.24 trillion tax revenue shortfall recorded by Nigeria Revenue Service’s (NRS) for the first quarter of 2026 has triggered a wave of concern among Nigerians, with economic experts blaming the underperformance on possible tax compliance gaps as the country pivots to a new tax law.
According to documents presented by the NRS at the Federation Account Allocation Committee meetings on Tuesday, the agency generated a total of N7.44 trillion revenue in Q1 (January to March) 2026. This represent a N2.24 trillion shortfall when compared to N9.68 trillion revenue target for the period.
This ‘underperformance’ followed the introduction of the new tax laws, whose implementation commenced in January.
However, BusinessDay’s check showed that while the actual revenue fell below target, it was 23.16 percent higher compated to N6.04 trillion revenue collected by the Service in first quarter of 2025.
Speaking on the performance of the Agency, Muda Yusuf, chief executive officer, Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprises (CPPE) said that it is ‘too early’ to access the outcome of the new tax law seeing that the period undet review is the first quarter into the tax reform.adsads
