The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has identified low-income earners as the major beneficiaries of the new tax law introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking during an interview on Sunday on Arise Television, the Executive Chairman of the NRS, Zacchaeus Adedeji, said the tax reforms were deliberately designed to protect the poor while easing their cost-of-living burden.
Adedeji clarified that the government is not increasing taxes on citizens, stressing that extensive exemptions have been built into the new law. According to him, more than 95 per cent of poor Nigerians are completely exempted from the new tax regime.
READ ALSO: APC chieftain calls for immediate impeachment of Tinubu over Tax Reform Bill controversy
He explained that the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on food items alone significantly benefits low-income households, noting that food accounts for about 90 per cent of the disposable income of the poor.
“We removed VAT totally from food items. The same thing applies to transportation, which also largely affects the poor,” Adedeji said.
READ ALSO: Nigerian Banks Set To Enforce 10% Tax On Interest From Foreign Currency Accounts Starting January 1, 2026
He added that when all the exemptions and reliefs are considered together, the overall impact of the tax reforms clearly favours low-income earners.
“So if you look at the total and the net benefit, the poor are the most beneficiaries of this tax reform,” he stated.
READ ALSO: New Tax Reform: Nobody Will Debit Your Account — Taiwo Oyedele Assures Nigerians
About The Author
More Stories
Nestlé Begins Global Recall for Baby Formula Amid Contamination Concerns
KPMG flags five major ‘errors’ in Nigerian tax laws
Trump says Venezuela will provide 30–50 million barrels of oil to the U.S, with proceeds to benefit both countries