The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has reassured Nigerians that the new tax laws set to take effect on January 1, 2026, will not permit the government to automatically deduct money from individuals’ bank accounts.
Oyedele gave the assurance on Tuesday while speaking on Channels Television’s end-of-year programme, 2025 In Retrospect: Charting a Pathway to 2026, amid growing public concerns over possible bank account monitoring and deductions.
Addressing the fears directly, Oyedele dismissed claims that the reforms would allow the government to debit personal bank accounts, stressing that the tax framework is based on self-declaration, not direct debits.
“People think that the government will start debiting their bank accounts from next year. How they came up with that, I honestly don’t know,” he said.
“Nobody will debit your account for any amount you transfer. Whether it is one billion naira or one thousand naira, at the end of the year, you tell the government yourself.”
He explained that under the new system, taxpayers are only expected to declare their income at the end of the tax year, adding that the reforms were deliberately designed to be simple, transparent and fair, especially for small business owners and low-income earners.
According to Oyedele, individuals are expected to clearly state what constitutes their taxable income, while those who are legally exempt can simply declare their exemption.
“You know what counts as your income and what does not. You tell the government: ‘This is my income and here is the tax.’
“If you are exempted, you simply declare: ‘This is my income, and I am exempted from tax.’ It is a very simple process, and we are making it even simpler,” he explained.
He further noted that one of the major benefits of the reforms is the shift from a regressive tax system to a progressive one, which protects vulnerable Nigerians from bearing a disproportionate tax burden.
“If you run a small business, you are a sole proprietor, or you are just hustling, the system will no longer punish you for trying to survive. We have made it progressive, so it does not tax the vulnerable more,” Oyedele added.
Meanwhile, PUNCH Online had earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu reaffirmed that the implementation of the new tax laws, some of which were enacted on June 26, 2025, with others scheduled to commence on January 1, 2026 would proceed as planned.
The President described the reforms as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a fair, competitive and sustainable fiscal system for Nigeria, clarifying that the laws are not designed to raise taxes, but to support a structural reset, promote harmonisation and strengthen the social contract between government and citizens.
Tinubu also called on stakeholders to support the implementation phase, which he said has now moved fully into the delivery stage, noting that no significant issues had been identified to justify halting or delaying the reform process.
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