Tax law: No hiding place for evaders – Consultant

A tax consultant, Mr Gabriel Oluwasola, says there is no hidden place for anyone to evade tax under the new tax law.

Oluwasola said this on Thursday while speaking with journalists at a Hyper Master Class Conference and Gala Award Night, organised by the Clean Ace Foundation at the Providence Hotel, Lagos.

Our correspondent reports that the conference with the theme – Making Audacious Moves in 2026 – was organised by Clean Ace Foundationin in conjunction with Fabricare Professionals And Drycleaners Association.

“To me, the new tax law does not favour the high-network individuals because they are the ones who will help us to run this country. They are going to pay more taxes.

“The beautiful thing is that low-income earners have nothing to suffer.

“As per fiscalisation, technologically-driven system we are now operating, there is no hidden place for anybody to evade tax,” he said.

Oluwasola, who is also a Managing Partner of FINGOAL Consulting, described the new tax law as good in spite of some issues.

“The fact remains that the tax law favours low-income earners for the fact that if you are a small company, you are exempted from all forms of taxes.

“I think that is one of the beautiful things for our economy to grow rapidly. If I operate a business and my annual turnover is not up to N100 million, I don’t have to stress myself with tax obligations.

“Whatever profit I make at the end of the year, I can roll it over in order to improve my efficiency and in order to increase my income and also help the economy by employing more staff.

“That is going to stimulate the economy to grow. For individuals, when you earn within the range of N800,000 and below, you are fully exempted,” he said.

Oluwasola said that paying taxes remained an obligation.

“We have to tell ourselves the truth: tax is a civil obligation. We have to fulfil our own social contract before we can ask government questions.

“Failure to do so means we are not helping the economy,” he said.

Also speaking with newsmen, the Founder, CleanAce Foundation, Mr Eniibukun Adebayo, said that the aim of the conference was to have more inclusive conversations that would help businesses to grow.

Adebayo said that the conference helped to develop strategies to ensure businesses would grow and people would be able to take bold decisions in taking their businesses to the next level.

“This is why we had to look at the biggest topic in Nigeria today, which is tax; we had to bring a tax expert to guide the people,” he said.

Earlier, Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr Bankole Ajigbotafe, said that the dry-cleaning and laundry sub-sector occupied an important place in Lagos State’s wealth creation and employment ecosystem.

Ajigbotafe said that dry cleaning business contributed significantly to service delivery and job creation.

“Across Lagos State, thousands of small service businesses such as yours, collectively support millions of households, offices, hotels, and institutions on a daily basis.

“It provides direct and indirect employment for a large segment of our working population.

“In recognition of the central role of artisans, the Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, has intensified interventions aimed at building skills, improving productivity, and expanding access to opportunities.

“Over the past year, the state has supported tens of thousands of residents through structured entrepreneurship and vocational upskilling programmes,” he said.

He commissioner said that the programmes had equipped the beneficiaries with both technical competencies and business management skills needed to thrive in today’s economy.