Tax Laws: Nobody Will Debit Your Accounts, Oyedele Assures Nigerians

Nigeria’s Federal Government has reassured citizens that the new tax reforms scheduled to begin on January 1, 2026 will not give authorities licence to automatically withdraw funds from individuals’ bank accounts, addressing widespread public concern ahead of the implementation of the consolidated tax regime.

Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, made the assurance during a televised end-of-year programme, 2025 In Retrospect: Charting a Pathway to 2026, where he discussed aspects of the economy, security and the fiscal framework with analysts and stakeholders.

He emphasised that the new system does not provide any tax authority with the power to debit accounts regardless of transaction amounts.

“People think that the government will debit their bank accounts from next year, and how they even came up with that, I have no idea. Nobody will debit your account for any amount you transfer. Whether it’s a billion or one thousand naira, at the end of the year, you tell the government yourself,” Oyedele said, linking tax obligations to self-declaration rather than automatic enforcement.

He explained that the reforms are based on a voluntary income declaration system, where taxpayers report their earnings at the end of the fiscal year and settle liabilities accordingly, rather than through real-time access to bank records or direct debits.

This, he argued, aligns with international norms for personal income tax administration and aims to simplify compliance while protecting individual financial autonomy.

Oyedele also said that much of the anxiety around direct debits has been driven by misunderstanding and misinformation, noting that groups opposing the reforms are often not the individuals targeted under the updated framework.

He stressed that the intent of the reform is to make the system fairer, particularly for low-income earners and small businesses, and not to burden ordinary savers or informal sector participants.

His assurances come as the government prepares to roll out a broad tax overhaul that includes simplifying the tax code, broadening the tax base and adjusting rates and exemptions, with the aim of strengthening fiscal sustainability and improving the ease of compliance across sectors.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reiterated that the reforms will proceed as planned and are designed to build a more equitable and competitive fiscal framework for the economy.