Amid rising public anxiety over the ongoing tax reforms, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, yesterday dismissed fears that government plans to deduct money directly from bank accounts, insisting that such claims are “false, dangerous and capable of destabilising the economy.”

Speaking during a media workshop on the new consolidated tax law, Oyedele said the warnings trending on social media were based on ignorance and deliberate misinformation.

“Let me say this clearly: nobody — not FIRS, not CBN, not any government agency — has the power to debit your bank account,” he declared. “Whether you have ₦50,000 or ₦50 million, nobody is taking any money from your account. It is simply not true.”

No New Power to Seize Funds

Oyedele explained that the allegation arose from the consolidation of major tax statutes into a single code, which led many to assume that the government had introduced new enforcement powers.

He clarified that the only existing mechanism that allows recovery of unpaid taxes is a court-ordered garnishee, which he described as “a long legal process that is almost never used.”

“Even in extreme cases where someone owes hundreds of millions and refuses to pay, the government cannot just wake up and remove money,” he said. “They must assess you, notify you, allow objections, conclude the process, go to court, and get a judge’s order. Without that, nobody can touch your account.”

According to him, in nearly three decades of tax administration work, he has “never seen a single instance where money was removed from an account without due judicial process.”

He recalled the attempt under the former FIRS Chairman, Babatunde Fowler, to impose post-no-debit orders on accounts suspected of tax evasion — a move that failed without recovering a single naira.

“That process didn’t succeed, and it created unnecessary panic,” he noted. “Nobody is repeating that mistake.”

Higher Threshold, Not New Tax

Addressing the misconception that banks will begin reporting all transactions, Oyedele said the 2020 Finance Act already required accounts used for business to have a Tax Identification Number (TIN).

He added that the new reform even raises the threshold for mandatory reporting from ₦10 million to ₦25 million, which he said translates to “almost ₦100 million a year before any report is triggered.”

“NIBSS data shows that 98 percent of bank accounts in Nigeria have less than ₦500,000,” he said. “Those accounts will never be reported. This provision is not new — it has been in place for five years.”

‘Withdrawing Your Money Will Hurt the Economy’

The tax reform chair warned that the ongoing rumours could cause harmful panic withdrawals.

“One thing that can damage the economy very quickly is people rushing to withdraw their money out of fear,” he cautioned. “Nothing in the law authorises the government to debit accounts. Please help us educate others so we don’t create a problem where none exists.”

Oyedele maintained that the goal of the reform is to simplify compliance, expand the tax net, and reduce the burden on households and small businesses.

“This reform is not to punish anybody,” he said. “It is to make life easier, reduce double taxation, and support economic recovery.”

He added that his committee is working with the National Orientation Agency to release digital explainers and translations of the new law in major Nigerian languages. (Vanguard)

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