Economy
FG Won’t Tax Bank Balances—CITN
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has dismissed claims that bank balances are taxable under Nigeria’s new tax regime, saying only certain electronic transfers attract a N50 stamp duty and that the reforms are designed to shield low-income earners.
The Chairman of the taxation body for Abuja District, Mr Ben Enamudu, made this known while speaking in an interview with Arise News on Tuesday as part of efforts to educate and correct misconceptions around the new regulations.
Mr Enamudu said misinformation about the reforms, particularly around bank transfers and income thresholds, has caused panic among Nigerians.
“The narrative out there, which is the wrong narrative, is that the money in your bank account will be taxed. There is no provision for that in our tax laws. Nobody taxes the money in your bank account,” he said on the programme, explaining that the charge applicable to electronic transfers is a stamp duty, not a tax on deposits or account balances.
“When you make transfers from your account to someone else, there is a N50 stamp duty that applies. However, if you maintain multiple accounts within the same bank, you are not expected to pay the stamp duty,” Mr Enamudu said, noting that the reform also changes who bears the cost of the duty.
“Before now, both the sender and the receiver bore the burden of the stamp duty. But with the new tax reform, only the sender pays,” he said.
Mr Enamudu said several transactions are exempt from the charge.
“Salary accounts and payment of salaries are exempted from stamp duty. Transfers below N10,000 are also exempted. Once it hits N10,000, you pay the N50 charge,” he said.
He added that transfers between personal accounts held in different banks still attract stamp duty.
“Once it crosses one financial institution to another, the stamp duty is triggered, even if it is your own account,” he said.
Mr Enamudu also noted that essential goods and services remain exempt from Value-Added Tax (VAT).
“You don’t pay VAT on basic food items, medicals, pharmaceuticals, education and other essentials,” he said.
Speaking on another point: housing, he highlighted a rent relief introduced under the reforms.
“If you pay rent as a tenant, you are allowed a relief of 20 per cent of the rent paid, subject to a maximum of N500,000,” he said
“If your rent is N3 million annually, 20 per cent is N600,000, but the relief is capped at N500,000. If your rent is N1 million, then your relief is ₦200,000,” he said.
Mr Enamudu also said the country operates a self-assessment system for tax clearance.
“The law envisages that you will come forward voluntarily and declare your income,” he said.
While employers remit PAYE for workers, he said individuals with other income streams must file returns themselves.
“Your salary income is just one line. If you earn rent or run a business, all incomes must be aggregated and declared,” he said.
He added that states would adopt presumptive taxation for informal operators such as market women.
“Market women fall under the informal sector. States will determine structures and modalities, considering the principle of economy,” he said.
Addressing broader concerns about the impact of the reforms, Mr Enamudu described the new tax law as protective of vulnerable earners.
“The tax act as passed is heavily pro-poor. That is actually the reality of the act,” he said.
He clarified that the often-cited N800,000 figure refers to taxable income, not total earnings.
“The narrative out there also needs correction. It is not that if you earn N800,000, you don’t pay tax. The law says if your taxable income is N800,000 and below,” he clarified.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange increased by 0.59 per cent in Trading Week 16 of 2026, with the market capitalisation adding N13.58 billion to settle at N2.329 trillion compared with the previous week’s N2.315 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) up by 22.70 points to 3,893.15 points from 3,870.45 points in week 15.
Over the course of five trading sessions of the week, the total volume of stocks transacted by market participants went down by 50.2 per cent to 3.87 million units from 7.77 million units, but the value increased by 20.9 per cent to N150.9 million from N124.9 million. These trades were carried out in 162 deals across 20 stocks.
The most traded stock by value for the week was Okitipupa Plc with N46.7 million, followed by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with N36.3 million. Friesland Campina Wamco Nigeria Plc recorded N31.9 million, MRS Oil Plc posted N14.6 million, and 11 Plc achieved N12.6 million.
The most active stock by volume was Geo-Fluids Plc with 1.5 million units, and trailed by UBN Property Plc with 0.828 million units. CSCS Plc traded 0.609 million units, Friesland Campina Wamco Nigeria Plc quoted 0.325 million units, and Okitipupa Plc sold 0.26 million units.
Last week, 11 securities recorded movements, with eight on the green side and three on the red side.
MRS Oil Plc gained N33.75 to close at N197.75 per unit versus N164.00 per unit, Nipco Plc which rose by N31 to N344.00 per share versus N313.00 per share, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N20 to N280.00 per unit from N260.00 per unit, Friesland Campina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by N5.21 addition to N97.21 per share from N92.00 per share, NASD Plc chalked up N1.14 to sell at N38.50 per unit versus N37.36 per unit, Food Concepts Plc appreciated by 26 Kobo to N2.94 per share from N2.68 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc increased by 6 Kobo to 63 Kobo per unit from 57 Kobo per unit, and Lighthouse Financial Plc expanded by 6 Kobo to 72 Kobo per share from 66 Kobo per share.
Conversely, 11 Plc lost N10.22 to quote at N212.08 per unit versus N222.30 per unit, CSCS Plc declined by N5.50 to N58.00 per share from N63.50 per share, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc shrank by 2 Kobo to N2.30 per unit from N2.32 per unit.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The federal government has said there is no iota of truth in reports making the rounds that a significant portion of federation earnings is being “diverted”.
The claims came from a recent World Bank report, which the government said the media misinterpreted as “hidden spending.”
In a statement signed on Sunday by the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, the federal government emphasised that the characterisation of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) deductions as “waste” or missing funds was “incorrect,” noting that the World Bank report presented the deductions as statutory transfers, savings and investments, security-related expenditures, cost-of-collection charges, refunds to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and transfers and interventions benefiting subnational governments.
“It is important to emphasise that refunds and transfers to states and other tiers of government are not leakages. They represent legitimate fiscal flows, including repayments of obligations and statutorily backed allocations,” the statement said.
It was further stressed that, “The World Bank explicitly notes that reforms implemented in early 2026, including the recently signed Executive Order to safeguard remittance of petroleum revenues, are already addressing concerns around deductions, and are expected to improve transparency while increasing revenues available to all tiers of government by about 0.4 per cent of GDP annually.”
“Misinterpreting one aspect of the analysis without acknowledging the progressive reforms and measures already introduced to enhance distributable federation revenues gives a distorted picture,” it submitted.
The Nigerian authorities averred that the broader message of the World Bank report is positive and forward-looking, as economic growth is becoming more broad-based across sectors, inflation is declining due to deliberate policy actions, Nigeria’s external position has strengthened, and debt indicators have improved.
The government declared that the World Bank did not say in the report that “Nigeria’s fiscal system is collapsing or that reforms have failed. Rather, it states that reforms are working, and they must be sustained and deepened to translate macroeconomic gains into inclusive growth.”
The statement appealed to “stakeholders, media organisations, and the public to engage constructively with fiscal information and avoid twisted interpretations that may undermine reform efforts and fuel public discord.”
By Dipo Olowookere
On the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week, 3.588 billion shares valued at N195.313 billion exchanged hands in 254,553 deals, higher than the 3.361 billion shares worth N151.948 billion traded in 229,442 deals a week earlier.
Over a quarter of these transactions were centred around the trio of Sterling Holdco, Access Holdings, and Zenith Bank, which specifically accounted for 1.038 billion stocks worth N46.081 billion in 33,067 deals, contributing 28.92 per cent and 23.59 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
They helped the financial equities to lead the activity chart with 2.498 billion units sold for N94.005 billion in 111,052 deals, contributing 69.62 per cent and 48.13 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Services stocks traded 329.034 million units valued at N3.452 billion in 14,050 deals, and energy shares transacted 152.472million units worth N42.511 billion in 19,022 deals.
In the week, 61 equities appreciated versus 25 equities in the previous week, as 36 stocks depreciated compared with 54 stocks of the preceding week, while 49 shares remained unchanged, in contrast to 67 shares of the previous trading week.
Trans-Nationwide Express gained 60.48 per cent to sell for N6.05, Ecobank appreciated by 46.30 per cent to N67.30, Stanbic IBTC rose by 36.63 per cent to N188.55, Royal Exchange improved by 29.37 per cent to N1,85, and Aradel grew by 28.93 per cent to N1,649.00.
On the flip side, Coronation Insurance lost 14.38 per cent to close at N2.50, Ikeja Hotel declined by 14.36 per cent to N33.40, International Energy Insurance shrank by 13.80 per cent to N3.06, Academy Press slumped by 12.57 per cent to N7.65, and Honeywell Flour crumbled by 11.01 per cent to N19.00.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 6.57 per cent to 217,167.57 points, and the market capitalisation advanced by 6.60 per cent to N139.827 trillion, as the demand for Nigerian stocks soared.
Also, all other indices finished higher apart from the insurance and growth indices, which fell by 0.04 per cent and 0.99 per cent, respectively.
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