IF YOU ARE A SALARY EARNER OR BUSINESS OWNER IN NIGERIA… READ THIS BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.
Last week, I sat with two people on Fokona financial Forums
One was Mama Ngozi…
She sells tomatoes in the village.
The other was a young man in Lagos…
Good job… good income… money enters his account every week.
Now listen carefully…
At the end of the year…
Mama Ngozi had peace.
The Lagos guy had problems.
And you will ask me…
“How is that possible?”
Let me shock you…
The poor will not suffer tax in Nigeria.
The rich will not suffer tax in Nigeria.
It is the middle class that will cry.
Relax… don’t argue yet…
As your Financial Literacy Advocate, let me explain this slowly so you don’t miss it.
Mama Ngozi… Sometimes ₦20,000 enters her account…
Sometimes nothing enters.
Let me ask you...
Do you think the tax authority is sitting down chasing her?
No.
Why?
There is nothing to collect.
Now let’s talk about the rich…
The rich don’t argue online.
They don’t shout.
They don’t complain.
When they hear “tax”…
They sit down.
They study.
They hire experts.
They restructure their income.
So...
Before any policy reaches you…
The rich have already adjusted.
That is why…
They pay less Tax… legally.
Now let me come to you…
Yes, YOU reading this.
When...
Money enters your account…
₦500k… ₦1M… ₦2M… ₦5M…
No structure.
No planning.
No record.
No filing.
You are just receiving…
Spending…
Living life…
And you say:
“I will not file anything, Who Structure help?.”
You think you are smart?
Let me open your eyes…
The system is no longer blind.
Your NIN…
Your BVN…
Your bank account…
They are connected.
So...
Every money that enters your account…
Is recorded.
You don’t need to announce your income.
The system already knows.
Now this is where the real problem starts…
When you don’t file your tax…
The tax authority will calculate it for you.
And when THEY calculate it for you…
You will not like it.
Because they don’t know your expenses.
They don’t know your business cost.
They don’t even know your losses.
They only see one thing…
INCOME.
Yes.
Your Income.
So they will use what we call:
Best of Judgment Assessment
Meaning:
“Based on what we are seeing… this is what you should pay.”
And boom…
You will pay MORE than necessary.
Now let me break it down in a way that even Grandma in the Village will understand....
Imagine two people "Tobi and Adamu" earned ₦10 million.
Tobi understands tax.
Adamu says:
“I don’t care.”
Tobi files properly…
Declares expenses…
Applies reliefs…
Structures income…
Pays maybe ₦300k – ₦800k.
In fact:
Sometimes even end up paying zero Tax if he understands Structure and Trust.
Adamu ignores everything…
Government calculates for him…
“Oga… bring ₦2 million.”
Now tell me…
Who is smarter?
THIS is the secret nobody is telling you.
Tax is not your enemy.
Ignorance is your enemy.
And the Government explaining this with Big Big Grammar has kept you in the dark.
The poor can escape Tax because there is nothing to take.
The rich Can escape Tax because they understand the system.
But...
The middle class suffers because they are in between…
Enough money to be noticed…
But not enough knowledge to protect themselves.
And that is the painful truth.
As your Financial Literacy Advocate, Let me tell you something that may change your life…
You don’t fight a system you don’t understand.
You study it… then you position yourself.
Oya.. relax, let me Open your eyes clearly..
The rich are not smarter than you.
They are just more informed than you.
While you are arguing online arguing with Iking Ferry that Tinubu has paid him....
They are restructuring quietly.
While you are complaining…
They are complying strategically.
While you are shouting…
They are saving millions.
Now let me ask you one question…
Are you Mama Ngozi?
Or are you rich?
Or are you the middle class walking into a trap?
Because whether you like it or not…
The system is already working.
You can ignore it…
But it will not ignore you.
Like I always tell my Financial Literacy Students on
Caption
Business School that the goal is not to run from tax…
The goal is to understand it so it doesn’t destroy you.
If this post didn't open your eyes…
Read it again.
Because the difference between ignorance and understanding…
Can cost you millions.
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