Questions
There are growing concerns that changes to the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) bill could give the NRS too much power, potentially bypassing court authority and breaching parts of the constitution. Allegations point to amendments in sections 23 (reporting duties), 30(1), 60(1), and 60(4-6), which deal with court and legislative oversight as well as the NRS’s authority. A major sticking point is Section 39 on appeals, where the harmonised version requires taxpayers to deposit 20 per cent of the disputed amount, but the executive’s version reportedly adds uncertainty with the phrase “may or may not.” These executive-led changes have sparked doubts about the legality of the updated bill.
Answer
Like I said earlier, I don’t want to get into those rumours. The point I’m making is that if we want to run a nation properly, we must stick to the rules and ensure we have solid facts for any form of validation. I’ve already explained that the process of lawmaking is very clear: when the President assents to any bill, it goes back to the National Assembly, which is the only body with the right to produce the gazette. As reported in the papers three days ago, the gazetted law has been released, and that’s all we work with. Any suggestion that the executive has a hand in altering these things has no basis in law, and if it’s not in the law, it’s not valid. The National Assembly has followed due process, and our role is simply to implement the laws they pass. Even the President has reiterated that we’ll follow due process in implementing laws. There’s no point in altering the law unnecessarily. The relationship between the tax administrator and the taxpayer is like that of a buyer and a seller — the more prosperous the taxpayer, the better for everyone. We’re not here to punish people; the essence of this reform is to stimulate economic growth, because when businesses grow, revenue administration thrives.
Question
Part of the controversy is that many people claim they haven’t even seen the harmonized bill. When Representative Dasuki spoke, he was referring to the House, and most commentators are also discussing the House version. The real question is, where is the harmonized copy of the bills? Were you among the few who actually saw it?
Answer
Before I proceed, I don’t even need to see the harmonized copy or any of those documents. The only thing I need is the gazetted copy that has been given to me. All these processes are internal matters of the National Assembly, which is simply a matter of separation of powers. So there’s no role for us to play, even if they use their own institution to fix whatever they think is wrong. That’s why I’m saying I don’t want to dwell on that. Our job is to implement the law passed by the National Assembly, and we’re ready to do just that. Thankfully, January 1 has arrived, the law has taken effect as the President announced, and everyone has seen it. The operational guidelines are ready, and now I’m looking forward to Nigerians beginning to see the benefits.
Question
There’s still another ongoing issue, which is the memorandum of understanding you signed in collaboration with the French government. It involves digital taxation, modernization, international cooperation, and transfer pricing. Nigerians are concerned about whether we’re involving France in our operations. Why is it, if we say we have new laws, that Nigeria shouldn’t focus on developing its own capacity?
Answer
I’m glad to see the level of awareness Nigerians have now. Government operations are just routine activities we carry out, not only with France but also with the UK, South Africa, and others, which is normal. It’s part of legal frameworks, including those that help facilitate interactions between the US and global bodies for tax administration, since the world is a global village. You gave a good example with international tax and transfer pricing—what’s your cost? The kinds of agreements and relationships we have exist both within the region and across the continent. It’s like saying Nigeria is part of the UN—why? Because Nigeria is a sovereign country. We don’t live in isolation, and we’re not giving any external body access to our data systems. Even here in Nigeria, without a court order, you can’t access another person’s tax data; it’s confidential, like a medical report, let alone sharing it with an international organization. There’s nothing to fear—it’s just normal operational work we do, not only with France but with other global tax administrations as well.
Question
Okay, still talking about international understanding. One of the areas of controversy is section 39(3) of the Nigerian Tax Administration Act, which talks about computation. Now, in the version that the house is referring to, they said computation should be in the currency of the transaction. But what we have in the Official Gazette is computation in US dollars.
Answer
No, if you look at it closely, you’ll see what I mean. Let me add some clarification. Tax is a technical subject that requires experts, and no section is written in isolation. When they say computation done anywhere in the world should be in the currency of the transaction, it means that if your transaction is in dollars, the tax will be computed in dollars; if it’s in cedis, it will be in cedis. For payment, if you have dollars, fine, but if not, the law lets you pay in the transaction currency using the current exchange rate. This is part of one of the President’s reforms—the unification of rates. Without that, it would be a problem. From what I’ve heard from the National Assembly, the transaction and computation are done in the transaction currency, but if you don’t have dollars, you can pay in naira at the current exchange rate. These are technical matters unrelated to any alterations. The first question critics should ask is: what is the benefit? Insisting on paying in dollars puts pressure on foreign exchange because Nigeria spends in naira. If competition forces you to find dollars to pay, and then Nigeria needs to spend again in the same way, we end up distorting the market. That’s one reason we pay in the transaction currency.
Question
The process started on January, as the President declared, but Nigerians are complaining that it looks like the government is taxing the poor to benefit the rich, despite the fact that there is that threshold on personal income tax for people earning about 800,000 Naira per annum, which comes to about N66,667 per month, What do you say to that?
Answer
Let me clarify that the law didn’t start on January 1 as declared by the President. The actual start date was June 26, 2026, as legislated by the National Assembly. The President doesn’t decide when the law takes effect; the Assembly passed it, and it was assented to on June 26. From that day, two parts of the law became operational, while the other two were given six months, in line with Nigeria’s tax policy that requires three months for companies to adjust to new rates. We extended this to six months to give more time for adjustments. So, all laws technically started in June upon the President’s assent, and the only change effective January 1 was the rate adjustment. The President emphasized that this reform is a rare opportunity to set fiscal standards that will support long-term prosperity. During the public hearing with Taiwo Oyedele and myself, our focus was on providing relief to the poor so they feel minimal impact. We’re taxing fairly, not excessively. Over 95% of the poor are exempted, with VAT removed from all food items—critical since about 90% of their disposable income goes to food—and from transportation costs. Overall, the poor are the biggest beneficiaries of these reforms.
Question
Talking about the poor and bank charges, lately there’s been a lot of complaints about VAT now being deducted from bank transfers. Before, people paid N15 Naira per transaction, but now with two or three transfers, more money is leaving their accounts. There’s also the issue of bank narration, which Mr. Oyedele insists isn’t about the tax authority snooping into people’s data. Still, many feel too much money is being taken from their transactions. Doesn’t it make you think this could end up driving people away from the banking system? Why would anyone want to transfer money if it’s just going to cost them more?
Answer
That’s exactly my point. Thanks for having this data; I’d like you to check and confirm if anything has actually changed. Since January 1, charges have been reduced. Before, when you made a transfer, both the sender and receiver paid fees, but now only the payer is responsible for the stamp duty, as required by law, so it’s not on us. Also, most personal income tax from individuals goes to the state internal revenue agency, while at the Federal Inland Revenue, we collect corporate taxes. Many complaints people raised are actually issues at the state level, which reforms have addressed. Now, most states have begun domesticating the Nigeria Tax Act to fix those problems. As for narration and similar issues, remember I said from the start that our goal is to help people prosper, because their prosperity drives our revenue. The ones spreading rumors and misinformation are often those avoiding taxes, but with digitization measures like e-invoicing, there’s no escape. If you send money to your brother, it’s just a normal transfer—no tax authority, state or federal, will pry into your account to see who sent what. That was never in the old law, nor is it in the new one. Narration claims are simply misinformation and have nothing to do with the tax law.
Question If you deposit N25 million in the bank as an individual, the bank must report it to the tax authorities. For companies, any profit or returns up to N100 million within three months must also be reported. People are now complaining about this, feeling like they can’t just succeed without the tax man scrutinizing every kobo and penny.
Answer
No, there’s no need to even mention that, and it wasn’t in the law anyway. This has already been the case, and it’s not just about tax authority—the use of data today goes far beyond what most people think, and it has nothing to do with tax reform. It’s simply the advanced stage we’ve reached in data management and how we use it. Reporting thresholds and such have long been in place, unrelated to the new law. The law is clear: we can only tax profit, consumption through VAT, and returns—not investments. Previously, companies faced a minimum tax rate on turnover, meaning that even when they made losses, they still paid tax based on turnover. That was essentially taxing investment, since losses aren’t returns, and collecting taxes in such cases meant taking capital—something the President never intended. That’s why this change happened: the minimum tax can only apply to profit, never turnover. These are landmark changes, and I’m eager for people to see the benefits of this important reform the President is leading.
Question
Banks require customers to have a mandatory NIN. For individuals, it’s also a legal requirement to have both a NIN and a Tax Identification Number (TIN). According to the new law, by the end of the year you must file your taxes and declare your income. If you fail to do so, the penalty is N100,000, and if you still don’t comply, an additional N50,000 is charged for every extra month. This is what people are protesting about.
Answer
Why are people protesting about this money issue? We need to decide what kind of country we want to run. Many of us travel abroad, see good systems, and praise them, yet when it’s time to implement similar ideas here, people start complaining. What’s wrong with filing once a year as a Nigerian citizen, declaring what you earn and pay? If you overpay, the government should refund you; if you underpay, you settle the difference—this is normal in any developed country. Now we’re saying let’s adopt that system. NIN already serves as a tax ID for individuals, and companies all have tax identification numbers. There’s no reason to complain—it’s a civic duty, and we even have help desks to assist. We’re not law enforcement; we’re partners, here to make life easier. Before, there were 62 separate tax books to check for compliance; now, they’re consolidated into one under the Nigeria Revenue Service, covering VAT, royalties, and taxes in a single place. I can’t wait for people to start seeing the benefits of this reform the President is championing.
Question
Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) is the new name of FIRS. What is significant about this transformation?
Answer
We have six months to prepare for this day, and while many things in the system remain the same, there’s something important to highlight. The Nigerian Revenue Service isn’t just about rebranding—it’s a complete system and institutional upgrade. We’re moving from a fragmented revenue administration to a modern, digitalized, centralized system driven by intelligence and efficient collection. The mandate now goes beyond tax collection; it’s about revenue intelligence management. This isn’t about a name or a signpost. Previously, the Federal Inland Revenue Service implied we only collected federal or internal revenue, which isn’t accurate—we handle all revenue due to the government, whether internal or external. For example, with VAT, 90% of what we collect goes back to the states. So why stick with the “federal” title? The Nigerian Revenue Service represents a total institutional transformation to meet the demands of a prosperous nation..
Question
Many Nigerians are on the Pay As You Earn system. Yet, in addition to that, banks still deduct VAT, and there are other taxes to pay. People have to fill out forms and search for documentation. The whole idea was supposed to address the problem of multiple taxes. So, if someone is already on Pay As You Earn, why should they still have to pay other taxes?
Answer
Let me explain. There are two broad categories of taxes: transactional taxes and income taxes. Transactional taxes apply regardless of what you earn—whenever you engage in a transaction, you pay them. A common example is VAT. Whether you’re a banker, an MD, an entrepreneur, or anything else, if you buy products that aren’t exempt, you’ll pay VAT on them. Income taxes apply whether you’re a company or an individual. For individuals, “pay as you earn” focuses on income—you pay based on your salary or any money you receive. However, this doesn’t exclude you from paying transactional taxes, which apply to everyone. Another tax people often confuse is withholding tax. This isn’t a separate type of tax like VAT—it’s a prepaid tax. When you engage in certain transactions, unless the payer reports them, there’s no way to track them. That’s why tax is withheld, and you’re given a receipt. At the end of the year, when filing your taxes, let’s say you owe N100,000 and have already paid N20,000 through withholding tax—you only pay the balance. For example, if you have a fixed deposit of N1 million and earn N1,000 interest monthly, the bank might withhold 10% as prepaid tax. You have the right to collect a receipt for this so you can deduct it from your total tax when filing yearly or quarterly. It’s not an additional tax—just tax paid in advance.
Question
Another big question is, what is the Nigerian government doing with the extra revenue? They claim we’re contributing more money to help the government run properly, but now we don’t trust them.
Answer
Trust will build over time. We just passed December—did you see any fuel queues or scarcity? That’s the result of reform. When people ask what the money is used for, do they consider the government’s spending to maintain peace and order? At the revenue administration, our role is to assess, collect, and account for funds, while the National Assembly appropriates them and we execute the government’s plans. Everywhere in the world, there’s expenditure and revenue. I understand that because of the reform gap, people might complain, but if you look at where we were before—with exchange rate instability, fuel scarcity, subsidies, and all those challenges—we promised that with Nigeria’s support, we’d remove those issues, and the results are showing. Go to the states now and compare what they collected before to what they’re collecting now. When talking about impact, remember we’re less than three years in, and it takes time for these changes to trickle down. I’m confident that by 2026, people will feel the benefits even more.
