The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has said that he can die for Nigeria as a reformer.

Oyedele, who spoke against the backdrop of the alleged threats he claimed he got over the Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA), 2025, at the Cowry Quarterly Economic Discourse at the Capital Club, Lagos, themed, ‘Nigeria in 2026: Will Politics Trump Economic Reform?’, explained key provisions of Nigeria’s capital gains tax regime and ongoing fiscal reforms.

According to him, the law already provides automatic capital gains tax exemptions for individuals whose total proceeds from asset disposal do not exceed N150 million, provided the gain is not more than N10 million within a 12-month period.

“The law says everyone is entitled to an exemption on capital gains tax. If the proceeds are not more than N150 million and the gain is not more than ?10 million in 12 months, the exemption is automatic; no explanation, no conditions attached,” Oyedele said.

He further noted that pension fund administrators and real estate investment trusts also enjoy exemptions, subject to reinvestment of proceeds, stressing that the tax regime is structured to encourage long-term investment and market activity.

Oyedele explained that high-net-worth individuals only become liable to capital gains tax when they choose to exit investments permanently without reinvesting.

“This reform cannot fail; we don’t have a scenario for when it fails but how to make it better. President Bola Tinubu is taking the political risk while I am taking the other risk, including from people who are looking for my address to beat up my family. After all, there are Nigerian soldiers who died while protecting the country. I can’t die for Nigeria as a soldier, maybe I should die for Nigeria as a reformer. Mr. President is committed to the reform while those who do not want the reform are cooking up lies. They started fighting it as at the time we were drafting the bill,” he said.

Speaking on the forgery allegation, he said: “They hanged on to alteration and Nigerians were calling for the suspension of the law innocently while the people who started the conspiracy have a different motive. So, we were not moved and we asked them to point out the alteration when they find it. Nigerians have made the sacrifices from fuel subsidy removal, electricity subsidy removal, naira floatation and a lot of pain and sacrifice. The tax reform is coming in the middle of those reforms to help us accelerate on how we transform those outcomes into our micro reality.”

The Director General, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Chinyere Almona, noted that while there are positive feelings about 2026, it’s also clear that businesses are still struggling, with the cost of doing business still high.

“Businesses are struggling because of the cost of power, which affects every other thing. We don’t have the right infrastructure in place; so businesses can’t operate to their best capacities.

The Nigeria infrastructure stock today is about 30 per cent of the GDP while the World Bank expects that emerging economy should be about 60-70 per cent and developed countries should be about 80 per cent and above but we are only 30 per cent; which means businesses will have to self-provide for things the state should provide,” Almona stated.

Also speaking, the GMD of Cowry Asset Management Limited, Johnson Chukwu, said there’s a misalignment between macro and micro economies, adding that the micro environment has not caught up with the macro.

“There’s an increase in government revenue. So, the key thing we should look into is how do we drive improved household consumption? For this reform to be sustained, people must see improvement of their conditions.” (The Guardian, but headline rejigged)

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