The newly implemented tax reform by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is causing agitations among Nigerians as they feel that the reform only legitimatize multiple tax system, which has begun to make life unbearable for Nigerians.
A survey carried out by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) revealed that traders and business owners have now opted for cash payment from customers for goods and services rendered rather than bank transfer which started during the era of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to NAN, some traders in Abuja said the move was an interim measure to sustain their businesses and avoid unnecessary charges, saying the tax reform negates the financial inclusion and mobile banking policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
A trader at the Building Materials market in Mararaba market, Fidelis Agbo, said that he was confused about the provisions of the new tax law, hence his preference for cash instead of transfers.
Agbo said that the news making the rounds in the market was that the government would collect tax for every money that drops in a person’s account.
He stated, ”Since the government will not relent in collecting taxes, we have learnt to do our business with wisdom. I now collect cash from my customers for goods purchased. I usually direct my customers to a Point of Sale (PoS) person close to my shop to withdraw money. What I do for my big customers is that we split the PoS charges between us. My customers pay half, and I pay half, so that the burden will not be much on them. I intend to continue like this until I understand the tax thing better.”
Another trader at Nyanya market, Khalid Abbas, viewed the tax law as complex, stating that he collected cash from his customers.
Stressing that he preferred cash for the fear of being taxed unfairly, Abbas said, ”Cash is straightforward, no complications, no need to involve banks or digital records. Before now, I heard that if you put the reason you are sending money to a person (narration), it will not be taxed, but later, they said it was not true again. As a business owner, I am concerned about the new tax law, but I am not sure how it will affect my business. To avoid any issues, I prefer to receive cash payments for goods sold just for me to manage my business, given the current uncertainty around the tax law.”
In the same direction, a buyer at Nyanya market, Sarah Onifade, said she was asked to pay tax after the purchase of goods worth over N830,000.
Onifade said the seller received the alert of her transfer but asked her to pay tax of N50,000 on the money as he would be charged by both his bank and the government.
”I was very surprised to hear this because I never understood the tax law like this. I ended up paying an additional N20,000 to him after so much dragging back and forth. This is frustrating and discouraging,” she said.
Mrs Sarah Akator, a business owner, called on various agencies saddled with the responsibility of sensitising the public to do so urgently with a view to making people well informed about the new tax laws.
Akator called on the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the tax committee to commence awareness and sensitisation programmes, especially in markets and communities, to help citizens better understand the law, suggesting that translating the law into different local languages would aid easy assimilation and understanding.
