The concept of Stamp Duty in Nigeria was introduced in 2004; its implementation was considered necessary at the time, so in January 2016, the Central Bank established a duty of N50 for deposits of over N1000. From this article, you will learn all you need to know about the payment of stamp duties in Nigeria.
What Postal Duty is and when is it charged?
The current tax regime has been around for a long time; the 2004 Stamp Duty Act was due to become valid in January 2016. In accordance with it, the rate of duties depended on the sums of postal expenses. However, as a result, the duty price was fixed at N50 for all transactions higher than N1000. This measure was adopted to multiply the revenues of the government.
The money is collected for every deposit after its transfer is made through an online service or a stationary branch of the bank. It is worth noting that the payer of the duty is the recipient and not the sender of the money. You do not need to take any additional action to pay this duty because the money is automatically deducted from your bank account.
The good news is that this payment does not concern student and salary accounts. You will also not be charged if the transfer is made between your two accounts or you credit your own account.
Increasing the duty: is it fair?
AAt the beginning of this year, an increase in Stamp Duty was proposed; Nigerians did not like this idea. Most citizens in the country are not well informed about rules of the civil economy and financial regulation in Nigeria. This explains the large number of protests, and constant criticism from the activists who claim to be acting in the interests of the people.
Each adjustment of fees and taxes by the government usually comes because of exacerbated conflicts. Nevertheless, the tax policy is periodically reviewed in every country in the world. This is also connected with inflation, which has affected almost the entire planet. This phenomenon affects every currency without any official warnings.
Why is the duty to be increased?
Representatives of the postal service of Nigeria argue that the delivery and processing of transactions require a somewhat larger amount of money than N50. The reason for everything is inflation. This is quite logical considering some factors:
- If since 2004, the goods that cost N30 have increased in price to N145, then the postal service should also legitimately increase the cost of its services.
- Let us also recall that after two adjustments since 2004, the minimum monthly wage has increased from N5000 to N18,000.
- All items of expenditure have increased in price: spare parts and fuel for vehicles, maintenance, repair of equipment, etc.
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How to achieve the consent of the people?
Most of the time, many citizens have a feeling that state organizations deceive them, take their money unjustly and spend them on personal projects. Nigerians have every right to demand a detailed report from the government on what their money is being used for and all the reasons for the proposed price hikes. The authorities are obliged to provide such information if they don't want to face resistance from the Nigerians. An informed citizen can potentially become a law-abiding citizen on his own free will. Unfortunately, government officials often neglect this simple but incredibly useful and fair rule.
Only mutual trust and honesty will allow the authorities and people to create an effective mechanism for obtaining duties and using them to provide quality services that will make life more complete and full. Order in this sphere is especially important because the time of free money received from the oil business has passed. Any increase in tariffs should be supported by qualitative improvements.
Now that you know what a stamp duty is, we hope that this information was useful for you. It is a necessary move for the good of all and every citizen who wants to know what is happening to his country’s economy needs to constantly monitor the news of the financial world. We hope you always stay informed and spend money on only justified purposes.
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Source: Naija.ng