In a surprising move, the Nigerian government has introduced a new law that will create a tax on cryptocurrencies. Crypto traders say that it might not work.
In 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria banned cryptocurrency trading. Now, in 2023, on the eve of its departure, the Buhari-led government, with its history of being averse to crypto, surprisingly introduced a new law to tax gains on digital assets like cryptocurrency. The crypto tax comes from a series of amendments to the 2022 Finance Act. According to the Finance Act, there is now a 10% tax on profits on digital assets.
Section 3(a) of the Capital Gains Tax Act is amended by inserting the phrase “digital assets” after the word “debt” as follows: “Subject to any exceptions provided by this Act, all forms of property shall be assets for the purposes of this Act, whether situated in Nigeria or not, including options, debts, digital assets, and incorporeal property generally.”
Although the amendment comes…
