Tinubu’s Tax Reforms Shield Poor Nigerians as Government Scraps VAT on Food, Transport — NRS

|By Babatunji Wusu

The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has declared poor Nigerians as the biggest beneficiaries of the new tax reforms introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insisting that the policy eases financial pressure on low-income households.

The Executive Chairman of the NRS, Zacchaeus Adedeji, disclosed this on Sunday during an interview on Arise Television, where he dismissed claims that the Federal Government is imposing heavier taxes on citizens.

Adedeji said the reforms deliberately protect vulnerable Nigerians, noting that more than 95 percent of the poor are fully exempt from taxation when existing waivers and exclusions are considered.

He explained that the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on food items delivers immediate relief, as food accounts for about 90 percent of the disposable income of poor households.

According to him, VAT has also been eliminated on transportation, another major expense for low-income earners, further strengthening the pro-poor focus of the reforms.

Adedeji stressed that when the exemptions are assessed collectively, the tax framework clearly favours the poor, positioning them as the net winners of the new fiscal policy.