The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has said that Lagos State has the capacity to generate as much as N1 trillion annually from property tax if the revenue source is fully harnessed.

Oyedele made this known while speaking at the Tax Reform Summit 2026, which had the theme, “From Reforms to Results: The Lagos Implementation Roadmap.”

He described property tax as a stable but largely underutilised source of revenue for states and local governments across the country.

Oyedele explained that Lagos alone could unlock massive revenue if its property tax system was effectively implemented and properly managed.

According to him, Lagos has at least two million taxable properties, each valued at an average of N100 million, and taxing such properties at a rate of 0.5 per cent could generate N1 trillion annually for reinvestment in community development.

He said, “Proper property enumeration, accurate valuation, transparency, and predictable enforcement are key to success.”

Oyedele urged Lagos State to take the lead in improving data quality for fiscal planning, noting that the total number of active taxpayers across Nigeria remains below 10 million.

He stated that the number of active taxpayers nationwide should be at least equivalent to the population of Lagos State, stressing the need for accurate data to drive effective tax administration.

The committee chairman also called for collaboration in tax reforms, advocating harmonised revenue collection under the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service to eliminate inefficiencies and duplication.

Oyedele further emphasised the importance of leveraging technology to promote transparency and improve service delivery in alignment with tax payments.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, echoed Oyedele’s position, noting that the success of Nigeria’s tax reforms largely depends on effective implementation at the state level.

Sanwo-Olu described tax reform as a form of governance reform centred on simplicity, transparency, digital efficiency and fairness.

He explained that tax revenues in Lagos are deployed to fund infrastructure, healthcare, education and security under the state’s THEMES+ Development Agenda.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Taxation and Revenue, Abdul-Kabir Ogungbo, disclosed plans to establish a standardised revenue portal across all local governments in Lagos State.

Ogungbo said the proposed portal would be integrated with national identification systems to enhance tax collection efficiency and strengthen governance.

He noted that Lagos bears a disproportionate responsibility within Nigeria’s economy, yet its annual budget remains below N5 trillion despite the state’s scale and economic contribution.

Ogungbo called for collective efforts to achieve sustainable annual revenue targets ranging between N10 trillion and N15 trillion.

He said such revenue levels were necessary to meet the developmental needs of Lagos State’s population of over 30 million residents.