Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the presidential committee on
fiscal policy and tax reforms, has assured Nigerians that the new tax reforms
will not result in automatic debits from bank accounts, regardless of the
amount transferred or description.
Speaking on Channels Television’s end-of-year special on
Tuesday, Oyedele said no tax authority anywhere in the world has the capacity
to pursue every individual, noting that tax enforcement typically targets high-income earners rather than low-income bank users.
“Nobody will debit your account. Any amount of money you
transfer, whether it is 1 billion, whether it is 1,000, it doesn’t matter how
you describe it. Nobody will debit your bank account,” the chairman said.
‘RICH USING AVERAGE PERSONS TO FIGHT REFORMS’
The chairman said concerns over bank debits have largely
been driven by misinformation, adding that many Nigerians opposing the reforms
are not in the income bracket targeted by the policy.
“The people that are fighting us the most are the people who
don’t have 1 million in their bank account,” the chairman said.
“You know that the NDIC said 98 percent of bank holders in
Nigeria can’t boast of 500k in their bank account. Those are the people
fighting.
“I think something we underestimated in this reform. We said
the current system is regressive, taxing the vulnerable more. Let us make it
progressive. In fact, there was one of our meetings where we were saying it is
going to be hard for these rich people to go out and be protesting because they
don’t want people to know that they are rich.
“We underestimated how these guys can manipulate the average
person to fight the fights on their behalf. Even against their own interests,
that was what played out and it is totally unbelievable.
“There are content creators who admitted they make up to
$10,000 a month. They don’t want to pay tax. You think they will go and create
a content that says they want to tax $10,000 a month? They say they are going
to debit your bank account so you can help them fight the reform.”
He explained that the reformed tax system is based on
self-declaration, with taxpayers expected to disclose their income at the end
of the year and pay tax accordingly.
According to the chairman, individuals who are exempt from
tax will only need to declare their status, stressing that the process is being
simplified to encourage compliance.
Oyedele’s assurance comes after President Bola Tinubu
confirmed that the implementation of the new tax laws will commence as
scheduled, despite calls to stop its implementation.
While acknowledging the public outcry over alleged changes
in the tax laws approved by the national assembly, Tinubu said there is no
substantial reason not to implement the reforms.
The president said the reforms are a once-in-a-generation
opportunity to build a fair, competitive, and robust fiscal foundation, and
they are not designed to raise taxes.
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