Tax law critics are rumour peddlers, mostly tax dodgers – NRS chair

 

Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Mr. Zacch Adedeji, has accused individuals spreading fears and rumours about the country’s new tax laws of being largely tax avoiders.

Adedeji, who spoke on Sunday during an interview on Arise Television, dismissed claims that bank transfer narrations would now be scrutinised for tax purposes, describing such reports as outright misinformation.

According to him, personal transfers, including those made to family members, are not subject to monitoring or taxation by either federal or state tax authorities.

“Nobody will look for narration,” Adedeji said. “Those promoting these rumours and misinformation are mostly people who are avoiding taxes.”

He stressed that neither the old tax laws nor the new reforms empower tax authorities to pry into private bank accounts.

“No tax authority, whether state or federal, will go and check who transferred what in your bank account. It was not in the old law and it cannot be in the new law,” he added.

The NRS chairman also clarified concerns surrounding deductions on bank transfers, noting that recent reforms have, in fact, reduced the burden on Nigerians.

He explained that under the previous regime, stamp duties were charged to both the sender and the recipient of funds, but the practice has now been discontinued.

“Before now, both the payer and the receiver were charged. Today, it is only the payer that pays stamp duty,” Adedeji said.

Addressing widespread complaints over taxation, he noted that many of the issues being raised fall under the jurisdiction of state internal revenue services rather than the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

“At the federal level, through FIRS, we collect corporate taxes. Many of the complaints people talk about are actually state-level issues,” he said.

Adedeji disclosed that ongoing reforms have prompted several states to begin domesticating the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, as part of efforts to eliminate multiple taxation and improve compliance.

He added that the ultimate goal of the reforms is to stimulate economic growth and prosperity, stressing that government revenue can only increase when citizens and businesses are allowed to thrive.