President Bola Tinubu has signed four new tax bills into law, declaring that poor Nigerians will no longer be burdened with income tax under the country’s new fiscal reforms.
The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, made this known during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, shortly after the President assented to the bills on Thursday.
According to Oyedele, the new laws, which will take effect from January 2026, are designed to protect low-income earners, stimulate economic activity, and track tax evaders rather than increase the burden on citizens.
“Poor people will no longer pay tax under these laws. This tax reform is not to put cash in your pocket, but at least it won’t take the little you have away if you are poor,” Oyedele stated.
He explained that the exemption covers Nigerians earning below N250,000 monthly, a threshold his committee arrived at after considering the country’s living conditions and economic realities.
“We had to answer the question — who is a poor person in Nigeria? International bodies use two dollars a day as the benchmark, but many Nigerians produce their own food and don’t pay transport fares, especially in rural areas.
“We calculated based on a family of five, assuming two working adults. If they earn about N250,000 monthly, they can survive, though without luxury. But they’re still classified as poor, and they shouldn’t be taxed,” Oyedele added.
The tax reforms, he said, aim to close the revenue gap, noting that Nigeria currently collects only 30 per cent of its potential tax income. The new laws, he emphasized, are “efficiency-driven, growth-focused, and people-centric.”
Oyedele further disclosed that while the tax burden for people in the middle-income category, earning between N1.8 million and N2 million monthly, would reduce, there will be slight increases for high-income earners.
“We eliminated tax for those at the bottom, reduced tax for those in the middle, and slightly increased it for those at the top. This way, we promote fairness, protect businesses, and ensure government doesn’t tax poverty,” he explained.
President Tinubu signed the bills into law during a brief ceremony at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, accompanied by senior government officials and economic advisers.
