Tax Regime: 95% of Nigerians will not pay tax, FIRS boss

The Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Dr Zacch Adedeji has revealed that 95% of Nigerians will not pay tax under the new tax regime.

He said the new tax regime affect the highly placed in the country.

The FIRS boss stated this at after he has received an award from his Alumni Association at the University of Ilorin.

He said from January in 2026, when the reformed comes into effect, it’s the people on top that are the focus of the new tax regime.
The name change of FIRS, he said, would have also come into effect

Adedeji who was reprwsented at the occasion by Prof Abiola Sanni (SAN), said: “from January 2026 FIRS will have a name change.

He said the nation is set for a new reveue drive through taxation in order to tackle the consistent challenge of tax to GDP ratio.

He argued that the tax reform thatnis set to come into effect in January was one that is friendly to a tax payer.

He said: “It is one that is business-friendly. I daresay that there has never been a reform of taxation in this country that is this transformative and business-friendly.

“Let me explain in case there are doubting Thomases among us, the tax system in the past used to focus on the people at the bottom.

“Under the new emerging tax system, 95 per cent of Nigerians will pay no tax.”

According to him, those who are blessed by God and who are benefitting from the economy, but haven’t been paying tax that have been captured this time around.

“Like I said they will be made to do so fairly.

In some countries whereas the tax rate may be as high as 50 per cent, but in Nigeria after the deduction of all the deductibles from the ‘big boys and big girls the tax will only be 25 per cent of what they earn.

“Finally you should be on the lookout for a new tax institute. We are changing the name to also signpost the fact that FIRS is not a federal institution now.”