The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has assured Nigerians that the new tax laws scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2026, will not permit automatic deductions from personal bank accounts.
Oyedele gave the assurance during Channels Television’s end of year programme titled 2025 In Retrospect: Charting a Pathway to 2026, aired on Tuesday.
He dismissed widespread fears that the Federal Government plans to monitor or debit individual bank accounts under the new tax regime, stressing that the reforms are built on self declaration rather than direct debits.
“People think that the government will debit their bank accounts from next year, and how they even came up with that, I have no idea. Nobody will debit your account for any amount you transfer.”
“Whether it is a billion or one thousand naira, at the end of the year, you tell the government yourself,” Oyedele said.
According to him, taxpayers will only be required to declare their income at the end of the tax year, adding that the framework was designed to be simple, transparent and fair, particularly for individuals earning modest incomes and small business owners.
Oyedele explained that the reforms would allow citizens to clearly state what constitutes their income and what does not, while those exempted from tax would also declare their status accordingly.
“You know what constitutes your income and what doesn’t. So 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 that we are simplifying further,” he said.
He added that the reforms would make the tax system more progressive and less burdensome on vulnerable groups, noting that small scale entrepreneurs, sole proprietors and informal workers would benefit from the new structure.
“One of the biggest benefits is that if you run a small business as a sole proprietor, an enterprise, or you are just hustling, the system will no longer be regressive, taxing the vulnerable more. We have made it progressive,” Oyedele stated.
Meanwhile, Tinubu has reiterated that the implementation of the new tax laws, including those enacted on June 26, 2025, and others set to commence on January 1, 2026, will proceed as scheduled.
The President described the reforms as a once in a generation opportunity to build a fair, competitive and robust fiscal foundation for the country, explaining that the laws are not intended to raise taxes but to promote structural reset, harmonisation and protection of citizens’ dignity.
Tinubu urged stakeholders to support the implementation phase, which he said is firmly in the delivery stage, adding that no substantial issue has emerged to justify halting the reform process.
