The Budget Advocacy and Reforms Association (BRASS) has launched the independent tax volunteers programme, a civic-driven initiative aimed at boosting tax literacy, strengthening voluntary compliance, and supporting government revenue reforms across the country.
Addressing journalists at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Monday, the Project Lead, Prof. Abdullahi Ya’u, said the scheme was developed to bridge Nigeria’s long-standing tax knowledge gap, especially among individuals, micro-businesses and players in the informal sector.
He said many citizens were willing to comply with tax obligations but lacked proper guidance and access to accurate information, while tax authorities struggled with limited capacity to reach millions of taxpayers nationwide.
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He explained that under the initiative, BRASS will recruit, train, and deploy 7,500 volunteers nationwide to provide free tax education, assist small businesses with Tax Identification Number (TIN) registration, support onboarding on digital platforms such as TaxPro Max, and offer on-the-spot advisory services to MSMEs.
“The independent tax volunteers will deepen trust between citizens and government by demystifying taxes and offering practical guidance that improves compliance,” Prof. Ya’u said.
He noted that the volunteers will also serve as a structured feedback mechanism, gathering data on bottlenecks and compliance barriers for analysis and transmission to the federal revenue agency, state internal revenue services, and local government revenue bodies to support data-driven reforms.
Prof. Ya’u said the programme aligns with global best practices in the United States, Canada, and Ghana, where volunteer-driven tax advisory models have strengthened compliance systems.
While maintaining that the group targets to educate 500,000 taxpayers annually, he pointed out that it would also establish volunteer hubs across local governments, deploying digital tools for efficiency.
Prof. Ya’u further urged stakeholders to support the initiative in scaling the initiative, stressing that Nigeria’s revenue future depends on fairness, transparency, and voluntary compliance.
