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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 include automatic deductions from personal bank accounts.
Oyedele clarified that the reforms are built on a self-declaration system, not direct debits or bank account monitoring.
Speaking on Channels TV
The assurance was given during Channels Television’s end-of-year programme, “2025 In Retrospect: Charting a Pathway to 2026,” aired on Tuesday.
Dismissing widespread speculation, Oyedele said the idea that government agencies would debit citizens’ bank accounts was completely unfounded.
“People think 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 one billion naira or one thousand naira, at the end of the year, you tell the government yourself,” he said.
How the New System Works
According to Oyedele, taxpayers will simply declare their income at the end of the tax year, stating what they earned and the applicable tax.
“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 — and we are simplifying it even further.”
He noted that the reforms are designed to be simple, transparent, and fair, particularly for individuals with modest incomes and small business owners.
Relief for Small Businesses and Low-Income Earners
Oyedele added that the new framework corrects long-standing imbalances in the tax system.
“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.”
Tinubu Reaffirms January 2026 Start Date
Meanwhile, PUNCH Online earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu reaffirmed that the implementation of the new tax laws — including those signed into law on June 26, 2025, and others scheduled for January 1, 2026 — will proceed as planned.
The President described the reforms as:
“A once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a fair, competitive, and robust fiscal foundation.”
He clarified that the laws are not designed to raise taxes, but to support a structural reset, promote harmonisation, protect citizens’ dignity, and strengthen the social contract.
Tinubu also urged stakeholders to support the rollout phase, noting that the reforms are now “firmly in the delivery stage”, with no significant issues identified that would justify halting the process.
