Tax rumours, misinformation mostly circulated by those avoiding payment – NRS boss
According to Zach Adedeji, Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, most people spreading rumors about Nigeria's new tax rules are trying to avoid paying taxes.Adedeji explained the significance of bank transfer narrations under the new tax system in an interview with Arise TV on Sunday, rejecting assertions that personal payments are taxable as untrue.
The chairman declared, "Nobody will look for narration."
"Those who spread these rumors and false information are the ones who are evading taxes."
The head of the NRS explained that tax authorities do not keep an eye on transfers between people, even those to family members.
“No tax authority, whether state or federal, will go and pry into your bank account to check who transferred what. It was not in the old law and it can’t be in the new law,” he added.
“Narration or whatever, it is just misinformation, there is nothing about that in the tax law.”
Adedeji also responded to concerns over deductions on bank transfers, noting that recent changes have reduced charges.
He explained that under the previous system, stamp duties were levied on both the sender and the receiver, but this practice has now been revised.
“Before, when you do a transfer, both the person receiving and the person paying were charged. Today, it is only the payer that pays stamp duty,” he said.
He added that numerous tax complaints from the public are handled by state internal revenue services, not the NRS.
“For the federal government, through the Federal Inland Revenue Service, we collect corporate taxes,” Adedeji said.
“Many of the complaints people talk about are actually issues at the state level.”
The NRS chief noted that ongoing reforms have led many states to adopt the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, aiming to address these concerns and prevent multiple taxation.
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