• Fight tax laws, not lament them, Oshiomhole tells NLC
• Tax reform not targeted at poor Nigerians, Lagos APC insists
• Lagos PDP chieftain raises alarm over different versions of gazetted tax law
• Tax reforms do not target bank balances, says tax institute chair

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to immediately address concerns raised by Nigerians over the new tax laws, warning that persisting with them amounts to a dangerous pattern that undermines the country’s tax administration and democracy.

The NLC president, Joe Ajaero, said this yesterday in Abuja at the book launch and 85th birthday celebration of one of the congress’s founding presidents, Hassan Summonu.

Ajaero said the government’s insistence on pushing ahead with the laws was akin to muddling along in confusion and darkness, noting that “we do not know which one is truly the law”.

He claimed the tax laws went through a process that excluded Nigerian workers and the masses, whom he described as the country’s major taxpayers.

Recalling that the Congress had warned the nation about the dangers of excluding workers from the Presidential Committee on Tax, he said: “We knew that the workers and masses were going to be on the menu (‘eaten’).” He alleged that the proposed laws were packed with serious alterations aimed at making workers and the poor poorer.

“Tax law that imposes a heavy burden on workers and the poor is not progressive. Tax that taxes the national minimum wage is not fair. A tax that taxes the masses who are living in excruciating poverty is regressive. That was why we were excluded from the committee and that was why our warnings went unheeded. We do not see anything wrong in pausing along this negative path, rethinking, and redirecting,” he said.

To this end, Ajaero urged the Federal Government to address immediately Nigerians’ concerns about the tax laws, rather than what he described as grandstanding by the Taiwo Oyedele-led Presidential Committee on Tax Reforms and the executive chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Dr Zacch Adedeji.

He faulted the laws, again alleging that their outcome was intended to worsen the condition of workers and the poor, insisting that such a tax framework could not be described as progressive.

Advising the government further, he added: “Your legacy must be in crafting foundational and credible laws that strengthen institutions, not undermining them. When you bypass key stakeholders, distort acts of parliament, and rule by strong arm, you make a mockery of our democracy. You negate public trust and threaten national stability. True democracy is not just about elections; it is about the rule of law, institutional integrity, and governance that serves the many, not the few.”

Fight tax laws, not lament them, Oshiomhole tells NLC
Meanwhile, at the event, the senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, charged the NLC to engage the Federal Government over the new tax laws.

Oshiomhole told the NLC president, Joe Ajaero, to actively fight for workers if he believes there are provisions in the laws that are against their interests, insisting that lamenting the policy would not stop its implementation.

Oshiomhole said, “I listened to Ajaero, and he was agonising that minimum wage workers are asked to pay tax. Do you think that if you cry from here till tomorrow, it will stop? The lesson of Sunmonu is: if it is wrong, fight it. If you know it is wrong, fight it. Do not lament it.

“On the floor of the Senate I always say I didn’t come to Abuja to lament imperfection. What the people need is not our tears, it is not our emotional statements. Those who do bad things don’t do it out of ignorance and those who enjoy a particular order will not give up. You have to fight them to give up.”

He added, “The minimum wage is exempt from tax. So when you say minimum wage is being taxed, they will see that as a loophole and say he doesn’t know what he is talking about.

“The tax laws are subject to amendment the same way you negotiated a benchmark for the minimum wage.”

Tax reform not targeted at poor Nigerians, Lagos APC insists
This came as the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress described criticisms of the new tax reform policy as largely driven by misinformation, sensation-alism and political mischief.

In a statement issued yesterday and signed by its spokesman, Mogaji Seye Oladejo, the party said it was necessary to clarify the objectives of the reform in the interest of public understanding, national stability and informed civic engagement.

The Lagos APC said the new tax framework was not targeted at low-income earners nor designed to impose additional hardship on struggling Nigerians. Rather, it said the reform prioritises protecting vulnerable groups through expanded exemptions and a more progressive tax structure aligned with international best practices.

According to the party, Nigerians within the lowest income brackets are either exempt from taxation under the new regime or will experience reduced tax obligations. It maintained that the reform is focused on efficiency, equity and accountability, adding that portrayals of the policy as punitive were misleading.

The party further argued that Nigeria could no longer sustain a modern economy on what it described as an outdated, fragmented and oil-dependent tax system.

It recalled that the country had, for years, grappled with multiple taxation, overlapping mandates, revenue leakages and weak enforcement, conditions it said discouraged investment, stifled business growth, and rewarded tax evasion.

For businesses, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises, the APC said the reform simplifies tax compliance, eliminates nuisance taxes and creates a more predictable fiscal environment. It added that the framework promotes fairness by ensuring that large and profitable corporations contribute an equitable share to national development.

The Lagos APC emphasised that taxation remains a key instrument for funding public infrastructure, education, healthcare, security and social protection. It said sustainable development is built on a functional social contract in which citizens contribute, and government delivers, noting that the current administration is seeking to strengthen that relationship through fiscal reforms.

While acknowledging that reforms of such scale require transparency, public engagement, and sensitivity in implementation, the party said constructive criticism should be encouraged, but deliberate falsehoods should be rejected.

Urging Nigerians to look beyond political rhetoric and fear-driven narratives, the APC insisted that the tax reform represents a difficult but necessary policy choice aimed at securing long-term economic stability rather than short-term political gains.

“Contrary to the alarmist narratives peddled by the opposition, Nigerians earning within the lowest income brackets are either fully exempt or will experience reduced tax exposure under the new regime. The reform targets efficiency, equity, and accountability – not punishment,” the statement said.

It added: “The truth is simple: Nigeria can no longer run a modern economy on an archaic, fragmented and oil-dependent tax structure. For decades, the nation suffered from multiple taxation, overlapping mandates, leakages and weak enforcement – a system that stifled businesses, discouraged investment and rewarded tax evasion.”

Lagos PDP chieftain raises alarm over different versions of gazetted tax law
However, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Funso Doherty, raised concerns over what he described as conflicting versions of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act available on official government websites.

In an open letter addressed to the chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS), Doherty highlighted that, as of Tuesday, two different versions of the gazetted tax law could be downloaded from the NRS website.

According to him, both versions bear the same publication date and number but contain materially different provisions. Doherty noted that one version differs significantly from the Act previously released by the National Assembly. He also pointed out that the Presidential Committee on Fiscal and Tax Reforms website displays a similar discrepancy, offering multiple versions of the same Act for download.

The PDP chieftain called on the NRS to urgently clarify the matter to prevent further public uncertainty, emphasising that Nigerians may be concerned about the existence of multiple versions of the same federal gazette publication.

“You may wish to address this so that further controversy or confusion does not arise over which version of the law the NRS is actually implementing.

“Nigerians may also be wondering, as I still am, how there can be multiple versions of the same federal gazette publication that bear the same publication date and number but differ in content,” Doherty said in the letter.

The open letter, copied to the Attorney-General of the Federation, the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal and Tax Reforms, and the Lagos State Attorney-General, comes amid ongoing debates over the implementation of the new tax reforms, which formally began on January 1.

As of the time of filing this report, the NRS had yet to respond to Doherty’s letter.

Tax reforms do not target bank balances, says tax institute chair
Relatedly, the chairman of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Abuja District, Ben Enamudu, dismissed claims that bank balances are taxed under Nigeria’s new tax regime, saying only certain electronic transfers attract a N50 stamp duty and that the reforms are designed to protect low-income earners.

Speaking in an interview with ARISE News, Enamudu said misinformation surrounding the reforms, particularly claims about bank transfers and income thresholds, had generated unnecessary anxiety among Nigerians.

“The narrative out there, which is the wrong narrative, is that the money in your bank account will be taxed. There is no provision for that in our tax laws. Nobody taxes the money in your bank account,” he said. He explained that the applicable charge for electronic transfers is stamp duty, rather than a tax on deposits or account balances.

“When you make transfers from your account to someone else, there is a N50 stamp duty that applies. However, if you maintain multiple accounts within the same bank, you are not expected to pay the stamp duty,” he said.

According to him, the reform also alters who bears the cost of the duty.

“Before now, both the sender and the receiver bore the burden of the stamp duty. But with the new tax reform, only the sender pays,” he said.
Enamudu added that several transactions are exempt from the charge.

“Salary accounts and payment of salaries are exempted from stamp duty. Transfers below N10,000 are also exempted. Once it hits N10,000, you pay the N50 charge,” he said. He noted, however, that transfers between personal accounts held in different banks still attract stamp duty.

“Once it crosses one financial institution to another, the stamp duty is triggered, even if it is your own account,” he said. On value-added tax, Enamudu said essential goods and services remain exempt.

“You don’t pay VAT on basic food items, medicals, pharmaceuticals, education and other essentials,” he said. He also highlighted a rent relief introduced under the reforms.

“If you pay rent as a tenant, you are allowed a relief of 20 per cent of the rent paid, subject to a maximum of N500,000,” he said. Illustrating the cap, he added: “If your rent is N3 million annually, 20 per cent is N600,000, but the relief is capped at N500,000. If your rent is N1 million, then your relief is N200,000.”