The Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) has clarified that Nigeria’s newly enacted tax laws do not require individuals or businesses to pay taxes in United States dollars, amid growing public confusion around foreign-currency provisions in the reforms.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV, Dr Zaccheus Adelabu Adedeji, Executive Chairman of the NRS, says taxes arising from foreign-currency transactions are only required to be computed in the currency of the transaction, while actual payment can be made in naira at the prevailing exchange rate.
Adedeji says the provision has been widely misunderstood, particularly by companies operating in the digital and cross-border economy.
“When computation is done anywhere in the world in the currency of transaction, what it means is that if your transaction is in dollars, the tax you are going to pay will be computed based on that currency,” he says.
He stresses, however, that the law explicitly allows settlement in naira.
“If you don’t have dollars to pay, the law allows you to pay at the current exchange rate,” Adedeji adds.
According to him, compelling taxpayers to remit taxes in foreign currency would distort Nigeria’s foreign exchange market and undermine broader fiscal reforms.
“If you force people to pay in dollars, it puts pressure on foreign exchange because Nigeria spends in naira. We will be distorting the market,” he says.
NRS and controversy over gazetted tax laws
The clarification comes as controversy continues to trail the credibility and transparency of Nigeria’s newly gazetted tax reform laws, with some critics alleging discrepancies between versions passed by the National Assembly and the final gazetted copies.
Adedeji dismisses the claims, insisting that the revenue service has no role in lawmaking beyond implementation.
“Our duty is to implement the law as passed by the National Assembly,” he says. “Once the president assents to a bill and it is gazetted, that is the only version we work with.”
He describes the reforms as a long-overdue overhaul aimed at fixing Nigeria’s fragmented and inefficient tax system.
“The whole essence of reform is taxing right, not taxing more,” Adedeji says. “It is about fairness, transparency and simplifying revenue administration.”
Protecting low-income Nigerians
Responding to concerns that the reforms disproportionately burden low-income Nigerians, Adedeji says the framework was deliberately designed to protect the poor.
“More than 95% of the poor are totally exempted,” he says, citing the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on food items and transportation. “If you look at the net benefit, the poor are the biggest beneficiaries of this tax reform.”
He also rejects claims linking recent increases in bank transaction deductions to the new tax laws.
“There is nothing in the tax law that mandates banks to do any additional charges,” Adedeji says, noting that such deductions are commercial decisions by financial institutions, not government-imposed taxes.
Bank data, privacy and surveillance fears
Addressing fears of expanded government surveillance through bank transactions, Adedeji insists that tax authorities do not intrude into personal accounts and that taxpayer confidentiality remains protected.
“No tax authority, whether state or federal, will go prying into your bank account,” he says. “You cannot access another person’s tax data except with a court order. It is like a medical report.”
He explains that existing reporting thresholds for large deposits and corporate returns predate the new laws and reflect the increasing role of data in modern governance rather than expanded tax powers.
“The use of data nowadays has gone far beyond what people think,” Adedeji says.
International cooperation and digital taxation
Adedeji also defends Nigeria’s memoranda of understanding with countries such as France, the United Kingdom and South Africa on digital taxation and transfer pricing, arguing that international cooperation is unavoidable in a global digital economy.
“The world now is a global village,” he says. “We are not opening any of our data systems to any external body.”
Under the reforms, individuals will use their National Identification Number (NIN) as their tax identifier, while companies will continue to operate with Tax Identification Numbers (TINs). Adedeji says annual tax filing remains a basic civic responsibility.
“What is wrong with filing once a year as a citizen of Nigeria—this is what I earn, this is what I’ve paid?” he asks.
Institutional overhaul
The reforms also formalise the transition from the Federal Inland Revenue Service to the Nigerian Revenue Service, which Adedeji describes as a comprehensive institutional and technological upgrade.
“Nigerian Revenue Service is not rebranding. It is a total institutional upgrade,” he says, adding that manual processes are being reduced and digital systems strengthened.
He says contingency measures are in place to address potential system failures, stressing that the reforms build on existing digital infrastructure.
“We are not starting today. It is an upgrade,” he says.
As protests and calls for suspension of the laws persist, Adedeji insists that legislation passed by the National Assembly cannot be halted outside due process, urging Nigerians to assess the reforms based on facts rather than rumours.
“People should read the law and analyse how it affects them,” he says.
He agrees that public education must be intensified, including translating the tax laws into local languages, to improve understanding and compliance.
According to Adedeji, the reforms represent a generational effort to secure Nigeria’s fiscal future.
“This is a one-in-a-generation opportunity,” he says.
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