Eat the rich
This is probably one of the few times you’d be glad you’re not a nepo baby
Is it a good morning, Big Brains? I’m not sure. I bought four litres of fuel for ₦7,000 yesterday and I actually sighed. I’m still not sure what NEPA has planned for me today so I might end up spending another ₦7,000 to keep my job. Bruhhh….
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1,000
Reading time ~3 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Nigeria wants to tax the rich and free the poor
Governor Sanwo-Olu wants you to stop chatting shit about him
The Big Deal
Nigeria wants to tax the rich and free the poor
You know how they say “the rich also cry”? We’re about to find out if that is true. The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, finally decided to leave the pockets of struggling Nigerians alone. Now, he’s going after heavy cheques from wealthy Nigerians.
According to Oyedele, 90% of the current taxpayers are people who have been shaken down by Tinubu’s economy and should not be taxed. So instead of making life harder for this category of Nigerians, he thinks it’s smarter to make rich people pay the heavy taxes and reserve smaller taxes for other Nigerian citizens.
He also noted that inflation has already acted like a "hidden" tax on people, reducing the value of their money without any new laws being passed.
Now, he’s proposing a bill that would make Nigerians who earn above ₦100 million monthly pay as high as 25% of their earnings in taxes to the government. Also, if this bill gets passed, it is expected to take effect in January 2025.
Why is this a big deal?
Like Oyedele mentioned, the inflation rate, which increased to 32.70% in September, is already a burden that’s too heavy for the average Nigerian to carry. If it’s passed, Oyedele’s bill holds many benefits for average citizens (which is great news)but comes at the expense of rich Nigerians.
Earlier this month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that wholesale and retail traders in Nigeria are now paying 49% more in taxes than they did last year. This outrageous level of billing should never have existed in the first place but Oyedele’s bill could fix this mess. He said, “Today, whatever VAT you (businesses) pay on assets—whether you’re building a factory, buying a laptop, or vehicles—you bear it. This increases your cost, and therefore, your pricing will go up. Once our reforms are implemented, you get the credit back 100% on services and assets.” He also mentioned that 97% of the informal sector, which are small businesses and workers who operate outside of the formal economy, would be formally exempted from taxes.
For Nigerians who earn below ₦1.5 million, taxes will be reduced significantly while lower-income earners will no longer have to pay personal income tax.
The corporate income tax rate will be reduced from 30% to 25%, which Oyedele says is a big win for businesses. There will also be other important tax changes, including reducing or removing VAT on essential items like food, healthcare, education, housing, and transport.
It might be too soon to tell but the Chairman is definitely up to something here.
Governor Sanwo-Olu wants you to stop chatting shit about him
Governor Sanwoolu of Lagos State heard that some people have been spreading misinformation about his latest project and decided to give his PR team an assignment to clear the air. The Lagos state government has announced that it has no plan to ban PET bottles and sachet water —for now.
Mr Bankole Michael Omoniyi, Director of Climate Change and Environmental Planning at the Lagos Ministry of Environment, had to become a podcast bro to set the record straight because of the outrage that was sparked online. The main goal is to clean up Lagos’ waterways and protect the environment.
What’s actually getting banned?
The ban will affect plastic bags thinner than 40 microns (the flimsy ones we all hate), plastic cutlery (so should we start taking our metal cutleries to fast food joints?), straws, and Styrofoam cups and plates. Basically, all the disposable stuff that ends up clogging gutters and messing up the environment.
Omoniyi emphasized that at no point did the government say PET bottles or sachet water were part of the ban. He also claims that the government did a lot of research before publicising this ban, making sure the rules don’t hurt local businesses or cause unnecessary job losses.
Why the ban?
Lagos has been battling plastic waste for years. Remember those Lagos floods where plastic bottles would practically float down the street? That’s the kind of mess the government is trying to avoid. Not to mention, research has shown that microplastics are creeping into our food, even making their way into our bloodstreams and affecting babies in the womb.
The government isn’t stopping at just the ban either. They’re also rolling out an "extended producer responsibility" plan, which means that manufacturers and other stakeholders in the plastic industry will have to step up their game in managing waste. They’ll either have to create collection centres for recycling or set up a plastic waste management fund. Everyone is about to get involved in fixing the plastic problem, not just leaving it to the government.
This Week’s Big Question
“What’s one random thing you wish you could tell President Tinubu?”
Chidi’s response - “Nothing too serious. I’d just show him how I was shouting that his administration would favour me and mine. Maybe he will buy me a one-way ticket to the UK and focus on showing the rest of you shege.”
You can also share your response here and if it’s as interesting as Chidi’s response, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
National Grid Keeps Collapsing But What Else is Falling in Nigeria?: Things are falling apart in Nigeria and it’s not just the national grid. The recent nationwide blackout marks the fifth time the national grid has collapsed in 2024 alone- Six times if we’re adding the Labour strike that caused a nationwide blackout that lasted for hours in June.
Cross River, Lagos Lead As Mpox Spreads To 63 LGs: The Mpox situation report from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed that Mpox has spread to 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory, affecting 63 local government areas across the nation.
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