As Nigeria pushes to raise non-oil revenue, citizens and small businesses are feeling the pinch and asking what’s in it for them.
At Balogun Market in Lagos, textile trader Mrs. Omolara Adebisi has a new phrase for her daily struggle: “Tax everywhere.” From multiple levies on goods to increased transport costs driven by fuel price hikes, she says the burden keeps growing.
Her frustration captures a wider concern: Nigeria’s new tax push, while well-intentioned, risks hitting ordinary people hardest if safeguards aren’t built in.
According to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the government is working to shift emphasis toward corporate and digital taxes, but enforcement at local levels often targets small traders and informal workers. This uneven approach has drawn criticism from civil society groups who warn that “tax justice must start from the top.”
Minister of Finance Wale Edun insists that reforms are being carefully sequenced to avoid worsening inflation. “We’re not raising rates; we’re raising efficiency,” he told reporters. “The poor will not bear the brunt of this reform.”
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Still, analysts say the short-term pain is real. Increased VAT compliance and excise duties on certain goods have filtered into consumer prices. For low-income households already struggling, it’s another strain on survival.
Experts suggest more social investment to accompany the reforms conditional cash transfers, better public transportation, and affordable healthcare to demonstrate that taxes translate into benefits.
Until then, trust remains the missing ingredient in Nigeria’s fiscal equation.