Oyedele Unconsciously Reveals Clause That Auto-Debits Nigerians Who Resist New Tax Law (VIDEO)
The Chairman of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration’s Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele on Wednesday unconsciously revealed a clause (Power of Substitution) in the tax reforms set to take effect next year that automatically debits Nigerians who resist the new tax.
Nigerians are pushing back against Bola Tinubu’s tax reforms, with many expressing concerns about the potential economic fallout.
The government have overtime maintained that the proposed reforms will boost revenue and promote fiscal sustainability, however, critics argue they’ll hurt low-income earners and small businesses.
The major concerns are the proposed increase in VAT rate from 7.5% to 12.5% in 2026 and 15% in 2030, potentially aggravating poverty amid suffering in the country owing to government policies.
Among other fears are regressive taxation, as VAT increases may unfairly impact poor households who spend a larger portion of their income on basic goods.
While the Tinubu government have also maintained that the new law would not create any problems, its insistence on the reforms has however sent fears to the spines of Nigerians.
When asked on a televised interview some of the clauses in the reforms, Oyedele unconsciously revealed a clause that auto-debits banks of Nigerians who resist the new reforms.
During the interview, Oyedele also rejected claims that the gazetted tax laws were fake or had been secretly altered to strip courts of their powers, saying many of the circulating allegations were not backed by any official investigation.
“I don’t think it would be productive to start discussing alleged alterations that we don’t even know where they came from,” he said, adding that some of the provisions being circulated did not exist in the gazetted laws.
While acknowledging concerns about public trust, Oyedele said the absence of an officially published harmonised version of the bills passed by the National Assembly had contributed to confusion.
Despite calls in some quarters for the suspension of the new tax laws, Oyedele said such a move would be impractical, noting that parts of the reforms had already taken effect, including the establishment of the Nigeria Revenue Service.
