WORKERS OUTRAGED AS NEW TAX LAWS SLASH TAKE-HOME PAY AMID SOARING COST OF LIVING
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
Anger is spreading rapidly across Nigeria as workers grapple with the effects of newly implemented tax laws, which have drastically reduced take-home pay amid surging inflation and rising living costs. From ministries to factories and offices, January pay slips have become a symbol of hardship, anxiety, and growing poverty for employees who rely solely on their wages.
Workers who have received their January salaries say the new tax deductions have slashed earnings without warning or relief. For many households, the cuts have pushed already fragile finances to the brink. Food prices continue to soar, transportation costs have risen sharply, rents have spiked in major cities, and basic utilities are becoming increasingly unaffordable. Workers describe the combined impact as economic suffocation.
Labour leaders have condemned the new tax regime as “economic warfare on Nigerian workers,” insisting the laws were drafted without considering the harsh socio-economic realities facing the working class. According to organised labour, workers were deliberately excluded from the Presidential Committee on Taxation, despite being the largest and most consistent taxpayers in the country.
“The laws were designed without us, yet we are the ones paying the price,” labour leaders argue. They also criticised policymakers for transplanting tax models from countries with strong social safety nets—functional healthcare systems, subsidised transportation, affordable housing, and unemployment benefits—which do not exist in Nigeria.
At the National Assembly public hearing on the tax bills, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) warned lawmakers of the consequences of imposing additional tax burdens on workers already facing devalued wages. NLC President Joe Ajaero said, “The tax laws went through a process that clearly excluded Nigerian workers and the masses, who are the major taxpayers in this country. From the onset, we knew that workers were going to be on the menu, and we alerted the nation.”
He further argued that taxing low-income earners in a country grappling with mass poverty is regressive. “Any tax system that taxes the national minimum wage and places heavier burdens on people already living in excruciating poverty is unjust,” Ajaero stated.
Despite these warnings, the laws were imposed, and their effects are now being felt nationwide. Reports of workplace agitation, protests, and growing resentment are emerging as workers express outrage over the deductions. Morale has plummeted in some sectors as employees struggle with shrinking incomes and mounting debts.
An NLC official speaking to Vanguard noted that the consequences extend beyond individual hardship. “Workers who have received their January salaries are raising concerns over the significant reduction in take-home pay. This will negatively affect their ability to meet essential obligations to families and dependents. When workers are pushed deeper into poverty, productivity declines, businesses suffer, public services weaken, and the economy absorbs another shock,” he said.
The official also criticised claims by some policymakers, particularly Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, that the laws do not harm workers’ wages. “These claims are disconnected from reality. Many public sector workers are yet to receive their January salaries, making official assessments premature and misleading. The reality is in workers’ homes and streets, not in policy documents,” he insisted.
For organised labour, the situation represents a dangerous tipping point. With inflation rising and wages effectively shrinking, more Nigerians are being pushed below the poverty line. Labour leaders warn that unless the tax laws are urgently reviewed and workers meaningfully engaged, social unrest is inevitable.
“The message from workers is growing louder and angrier: a tax system that impoverishes those who produce the nation’s wealth is unsustainable. Nigeria must choose between policies that protect workers—or face the economic and social consequences of taxing its workforce into destitution,” the NLC official concluded.
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