The Lead Story
Stocks Whiplash as 30% CGT Meets Market Reality
The Nigerian Exchange just rode the kind of roller-coaster usually reserved for amusement parks, and the conductor was a single three-letter acronym: CGT. On Tuesday, foreign investors stampeded for the exits, tanking the NGX All-Share Index by 5%, the steepest fall in 15 years, after word spread of a planned 30% capital gains tax on share sales. A day later, officials dialed the rhetoric down, and the market roared back 2.9%, its best day since January 2024, Bloomberg reports.
Senator Osita Izunaso wasted no time, urging the Finance Ministry to rethink the levy that he says wiped ₦2 trillion off paper wealth overnight. A review, he told Punch, is needed “before confidence evaporates for good.”
Behind the drama sits the broader Tax Reform Acts of 2025, the most sweeping rewrite of Nigeria’s code in decades. According to investment platform Risevest, the plan to fold CGT into Personal Income Tax “is a complete reordering of how wealth is created, managed, and preserved,” BusinessDay notes.
Why It Matters
• Equity sell-offs show investors are treating tax headlines like earnings misses,price-moving in seconds.
• With reforms kicking in January 2026, companies and individuals now have just seven quarters to rejig portfolios, entity structures, and payroll systems. For a deeper understanding of these changes, readers can explore our Introduction To Nigerian Tax Laws.
• Lawmakers are caught between boosting the tax-to-GDP ratio to 18% and keeping Nigeria attractive to capital, an economic tightrope with no safety net.
Around the Tax World
• Digital assets join the tax net: Crypto, lottery winnings, and even in-game tokens will face assessment when the 2026 rules land, according to TheWill.
• Editors lobby for VAT breaks: The Nigerian Guild of Editors wants VAT exemptions on newsprint and tax credits for advertisers to help a cash-strapped industry (Voice of Nigeria).
• Growth worries surface: Aggressive revenue targets could "stifle double-digit growth," an op-ed in the Guardian warns.
• From business name to LLC: Entrepreneurs are rushing to incorporate to tap potential Corporate Income Tax exemptions, per BusinessDay.
• Job-scam convictions highlight compliance risks: Two National Assembly staffers were jailed for a ₦4.8 m fake FIRS hiring scheme, Guardian reports.
By the Numbers
Prime Number: ₦2 trillion , the estimated value wiped off the NGX in a single trading session before officials back-pedaled on the 30% CGT (Punch).
Looking Ahead
All eyes now turn to the Finance Ministry’s promised “technical review” of the capital gains proposal and the draft regulations on e-invoicing, expected before year-end.