Banks to Report High-Value Accounts Under New Tax Reform — Oyedele Clarifies Withdrawal Fears

 

Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has clarified that Nigeria’s proposed tax reform laws will require commercial banks to report accounts with high transaction volumes to tax authorities, but will not allow automatic deductions from customers’ funds.

Speaking during a media interaction on Friday, Oyedele explained that the new tax framework raises the reporting benchmark for bank accounts from ₦10 million to ₦25 million in quarterly turnover. According to him, this translates to ₦100 million annually for individuals, while companies will be subject to higher thresholds.

Oyedele noted that the policy is not entirely new. He recalled that the Finance Act of January 13, 2020, already mandated individuals and businesses to link their Tax Identification Number (TIN) to any bank account used for income-related activities such as salaries or business transactions.

“Many people believe the new tax law is introducing this requirement for the first time, but that is incorrect,” Oyedele said. “The obligation to connect TINs to income-generating accounts has existed for years, and many Nigerians have already been complying.”

He explained that the reform committee simply transferred the existing requirement into the new tax laws while adjusting the reporting threshold upward to reduce pressure on small account holders. He added that poor public awareness has led to widespread misconceptions about the policy.

Under the proposed framework, banks will only be required to disclose account information to tax authorities when an individual records ₦25 million or more in quarterly transactions, or when a company records ₦100 million or more within the same period.

No Authority Can Debit Bank Accounts Without Due Process

Addressing concerns circulating on social media, Oyedele firmly dismissed claims that government agencies can withdraw money directly from Nigerians’ bank accounts.

“There is no authority—whether the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), or commercial banks—that can unilaterally debit anyone’s account,” he said.

He explained that tax recovery in Nigeria follows a strict legal process, including tax assessments, formal notices, opportunities for objection, and court rulings. Only after a taxpayer refuses to comply with a final court judgment can enforcement measures be considered.

Oyedele described this extreme enforcement option as “power of substitution,” similar to what is known in other jurisdictions as a garnishee order. Even then, such action can only occur after a court order is obtained.

“In my nearly 30 years in this field, I have not seen this power used against ordinary Nigerians,” he stated. “But it remains in the law for rare cases where someone deliberately refuses to pay confirmed tax liabilities.”

He reassured Nigerians that no amount—whether ₦50,000 or ₦50 million—can be removed from a bank account without due legal process.

“The message is simple: nobody is coming for your money,” Oyedele said. “The reforms are about transparency, not forceful withdrawals.”