FG plans 25% income tax on wealthy Nigerians

Taiwo Oyedele, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms has said that the federal government has proposed that personal income for rich people will increase to 25 percent from 2025.

Oyedele disclosed this in its remarks at the 30th Nigeria Economic Summit.

According to him, the new tax policy contained in the Economic Stabilization Bill currently at the National Assembly
will see wealthy Nigerians earning above N1.5 million pay more taxes in the coming months.

Citing a survey by NEGS, he said only 17 percent of Nigerians and 30 percent of businesses pay taxes because of a lack of trust in the Nigerian government.

He stressed that the country is working to close its about 70-75 percent tax gap to double its revenue by four times.

“The rich people earning N1.5 million above will see their personal income tax rise by up to 25 percent.

“Only 17 percent of Nigerians pay taxes, as well as 30 percent of businesses and one of the reasons is because they don’t trust the government.

“Therefore, what we want to do is to have a National portal just like South Africa where tax payment is seamless and transparent because our current tax gap is about 70-75 percent but if we correct that and everyone pays, our revenues will be 4 times.

“Another issue is policy gaps where we grant unnecessary waivers to some people who don’t even deserve it. But the main issue remains compliance issue”, he said.

Recall that in the first week of October 2024, Oyedele announced that the Deduction of Tax at Source (Withholding) Regulations, 2024, has been published in the official gazette.

Earlier in September this year, the Federal Executive Council approved the Economic Stabilisation Bills as proposed by Oyedele’s committee, aimed at 15 tax, fiscal, and establishment laws in Nigeria.