The Lead Story
Tinubu’s Tax Shake-Up: Food, School Fees, and Bus Fares Go VAT-Free
The Big Picture: Nigeria’s brand-new tax package is finally getting real-world price tags, and the receipt looks surprisingly friendly. In a wide-ranging interview, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) chief Zacch Adedeji called the 2025 laws “Nigeria’s best fiscal reform since 1960,” noting that staples like food, education expenses, shared transport and agriculture inputs will now attract 0% VAT, Financial Nigeria reports.
The Details:
• Adedeji said the reforms are already turbo-charging revenue: for the first time ever, the three tiers of government shared over ₦2 trillion in a single month, nearly 70% of it from taxes.
• The FIRS boss credited President Bola Tinubu’s removal of petrol subsidies and exchange-rate unification for “setting the economic fundamentals right.”
• Beyond VAT tweaks, the new regime introduces progressive personal income tax brackets for more insights on the Nigerian tax structure to shield low-income earners, a claim recently confirmed by fact-checkers at DUBAWA.
Why It Matters / What They’re Saying: The reaction was swift. Fiscal think-tank CPPE welcomed higher collections but warned Nigeria’s $36.7 billion federal budget still lags regional peers, limiting “transformative investments,” according to The Guardian. Meanwhile, critics like columnist Uche Jack-Osimiri argue that the upcoming Nigeria Revenue Service could “undermine our cherished fiscal federalism” by centralising collections, Punch notes.
Around the Tax World
• Federalism Flare-Up: Legal analysts say Section 4 of the new NRS Act hands Abuja sweeping collection power, raising fears of a “unitary taxation” model (Punch link above).
• Budget Gap Reality Check: Nigeria’s spending plan is one-quarter the size of South Africa’s despite revenue gains, CPPE’s brief cautions (The Guardian).
• Beer Boss Says ‘No’ to Foreign Stamps: Nigerian Breweries warned that importing tax stamps for excisable goods would duplicate customs e-monitoring and inflate costs for consumers (The Nation).
• Missing Stamp Duty, Anyone? Auditors found the Nigeria Police Trust Fund withheld ₦75 million in stamp duties instead of remitting to FIRS, sparking embezzlement fears (Secrets Reporter).
By the Numbers
Tax Stat of the Day: ₦2 trillion, record monthly allocation shared by federal, state and local governments in 2025’s first post-reform payout (Financial Nigeria).
Looking Ahead
All eyes now shift to January 1, 2026, when the new Nigeria Revenue Service officially replaces FIRS and the VAT exemptions kick in nationwide. Expect fresh guidance and perhaps fresh court challenges before then.
Prepared by MyTax - mytax.com.ng