Business
SEC to Licence Crypto Exchanges as FIRS Seeks Regulation
The Abuja-based Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to issue its first licenses for digital service and tokenized assets this month, Director-General Emomotimi Agama said.
“Being a crypto enthusiast and fintech enthusiast, I can tell you without doubt that this is going to happen sooner than you think,” Agama said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.
“We must support the youths of this country to be able to achieve the benefit that is accruable in fintech.
The market size is huge and it is growing. The figure is just “the tip of the iceberg’ considering many transactions are not reported, Agama said.
He said that the SEC wants “to provide a platform where people can formerly do these things and we can get all of the information that we need.
“What we will not encourage is the use of cryptocurrency to manipulate our currency,” Agama said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, said that an Executive Bill which seeks to overhaul revenue administration in Nigeria, including regulation of the cryptocurrency industry, is being put together for transmission to the National Assembly.
Adedeji, during a stakeholders’ engagement with a joint committee of the National Assembly on Finance, said: “We cannot run away from the cryptocurrency ecosystem because it is the in-thing.
But as it stands in Nigeria today, no law regulates cryptocurrency operations. We need a law that regulates that area of our economy.
This is why we are having this engagement with the legislators. We will regulate it in a way that is not injurious to the economic development of Nigeria.
“Bloomberg commented that the start of regulation will align Nigeria with other jurisdictions, including the European Union, South Africa and Botswana, which have taken steps to govern the asset class.
Regulators across the globe are seeking better ways to rein in crypto following a 2022 crash in prices that led to a slew of bankruptcies, scandals and billions in investor losses.
Nigerian authorities banned banks from supporting crypto transactions due to concerns that traders on digital-currency platforms are manipulating the exchange rate for the naira, which has depreciated about 70% against the dollar since June last year.
The government in February blocked access to the world’s biggest crypto exchange operated by Binance Holdings Ltd. and later prosecuted its executives over allegations of illicit flows and speculation on the naira, which it said deprived the nation of tax revenue and weakened the local currency.
The crackdown on Binance hasn’t deterred young, tech-savvy Nigerians, who have moved to the Bitkoin Africa Inc. and Quidax platforms for their Bitcoin transactions, Agama said in June.
The volume of crypto transactions in the country climbed 9% to $56.7 billion in June 2023 from a year earlier, Chainalysis said in a report.
Business
NRS Chair: New tax laws won’t be implemented until January
According to Adedeji, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS by the signing of the bills into Law is now the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), explaining that the new law now defines the NRS’s expanded mandates…
•President Bola Tinubu shake hands with NRS Chairman, Zach Adedeji.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (formerly FIRS), Zach Adedeji, has disclosed that the implementation of the newly signed four tax fiscal reform laws will commence by January 1st, 2026.
Adedeji told State House correspondents shortly after the President signed the bills into law, the previous day.
Adedeji said that the modalities will be put in place ahead of the implementation.
Adedeji further explained that the six-month period between the enactment of the new fiscal laws is designed to give ample time to those saddled with the implementation to carefully prepare and ensure that all Nigerians are adequately sensitised.
According to Adedeji, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS by the signing of the bills into Law is now the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), explaining that the new law now defines the NRS’s expanded mandate, including non-tax revenue collection, and lays out transparency, accountability, and efficiency mechanisms.
Business
President Tinubu List Economic Expectations from New Tax Laws
On his verified X handle @officialABAT, the President had said that the new tax laws form the groundwork for the Nigeria of tomorrow, focused on unlocking opportunities for all.
President Bola Tinubu said today that the four tax reforms bills he signed into law reflect his administration’s resolve to create a modern, transparent, and efficient tax system capable of supporting national development, promoting investment, and reducing the burden of multiple taxation on citizens.
President Tinubu explained that the laws would be unifying Nigeria’s fragmented tax system, remove redundant overlaps, boost investor confidence, enhance transparency, and promote coordinated efforts across all levels.
He also described the legislation as a clear departure from previous policies, emphasising that the reforms are designed to ease the burden on working families, small businesses, and low-income earners while eliminating inefficiencies that have long plagued Nigeria’s fiscal structure.
On his verified X handle @officialABAT, the President had said that the new tax laws form the groundwork for the Nigeria of tomorrow, focused on unlocking opportunities for all.
“We are also building a framework for the Nigeria of tomorrow-leaner, fairer and laser focused on unlocking opportunities for all,” he said.
He added : ” These reforms go beyond streamlining tax codes. They deliver the first major, pro-people tax cuts in a generation, targeted relief for low-income earners, small businesses, and families working hard to make ends meet.
Designed to overhaul Nigeria’s fiscal and revenue administration framework, the laws which have been described as a major leap in the nation’s economic reform drive.
“For too long, our tax system has been a patchwork-complex, inequitable, and burdensome. It has weighed down the vulnerable and shielded inefficiency. That era ends today.”
Business
Tinubu signs four Tax Reform Bills to law today
The bills were recently passed by the National Assembly following extensive stakeholders consultations and technical reviews.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will today (Thursday) sign into law four tax reform bills set to overhaul Nigeria’s fiscal landscape, streamline tax administration, and boost investor confidence.
The ceremonial signing is scheduled to take place at the State House, Abuja.
In a statement , Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said that the four bills are : the Nigeria Tax Bill, Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill
The bills were recently passed by the National Assembly following extensive stakeholders consultations and technical reviews.
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