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 on January 1, 2026, will not involve automatic deductions from personal bank accounts. He explained that the reforms are based on self-declaration rather than direct debits.
The assurance was given during Channels Television’s end-of-year programme, 2025 In Retrospect: Charting a Pathway to 2026, aired on Tuesday.
Oyedele dismissed claims that the government would monitor or debit individual bank accounts, stressing that taxpayers would only be required to declare their income at the end of the tax year.
“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’s a billion or one thousand naira, at the end of the year, you tell the government yourself,” he said.
Tax Changes Aim to Protect and Simplify for Citizens
He further explained that the reform framework was designed to be simple, transparent, and fair, particularly for small business owners and individuals earning modest incomes.
“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.
“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’ve made it progressive,” he added.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu earlier confirmed that the implementation of the new laws, including those enacted on June 26, 2025, and 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 robust fiscal foundation” for the country. He clarified that the laws are not intended to raise taxes but to support a structural reset, promote harmonisation, and protect dignity while strengthening the social contract.
Tinubu urged stakeholders to support the implementation phase, which he said is now “firmly in the delivery stage,” adding that no substantial issue has been identified to warrant disrupting the reform process.
Want to understand how the new 2026 tax reforms affect you? Read full stories and stay informed here at LouisaOlaniyi.com.ng.
