FG’s expanded digital tax net targets N230bn haul in 2025

The federal government’s expanded digital tax net is projected to generate N230 billion in revenue by 2025, marking a 31.35 percent increase from the N175 billion target for 2024, according to the 2025 – 2027 Medium Term Fiscal Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.

This revenue will be derived from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), introduced in the Finance Act 2020 as an amendment to the Stamp Duty Act. The levy imposes an N50 charge on electronic receipts or transfers of N10, 000 and above made through banks and financial institutions.

In September 2024, the federal government extended EMTL to fintech operators such as Moniepoint, Opay, and Palmpay, tapping into a sector that processed transactions worth N46.91 trillion in 2023. The new levy implementation commenced in December 2024.

The EMTL, targeting the boom of electronic transfers, generated N180.31 billion in revenue for the federal government in 2023, surpassing its N136.35 billion target by 29.45 percent. Total EMTL for 2024 stood at N133.22 billion in August, on course to hit its N175bn target.

Revenue from EMTL is distributed across the three tiers of government. The growth of cashless transactions, driven by the increased adoption of digital financial services, has bolstered EMTL collections. In 2023, cashless transactions surpassed N600 trillion from N395.38 trillion in 2022. By July 2024, transactions had already reached N572 trillion.

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Much of this transaction has been powered by mobile money platforms and instant transfers. Data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) reveal that mobile money transactions have grown nearly 30-fold over the past five years, rising from N1.37 trillion between January and July 2020 to N41.54 trillion in the same period of 2024.

Leading players in this space are Opay and Palmpay, which boast a combined customer base of 65 million users. Moniepoint, which operates with a microfinance banking licence, is a major digital bank that processes over $17 billion monthly for more than 10 million customers.

By expanding EMTL to these fintech platforms, the government aims to increase annual revenue from the levy to N305 billion by 2027, a 74.18 percent jump from the N175.11 billion target for 2024.

Point of Sale (PoS) operators leveraging platforms like Moniepoint, Opay, and Palmpay have begun raising charges to offset the EMTL costs.

“My PoS operator charged me N300 to withdraw N10,000, up from N200. I paid, but I don’t think I will use him again,” lamented Mark Anthony.

Frustrated customers have also voiced their discontent on X. Seige (@OjoPraise) tweeted, “My issue with the POS money vendors is they will add more charges when you want to transact anything because of this levy. Imagine you want to withdraw N1,000, and they say 200 per N1,000. After all, nobody is going to protest or do anything. We are broken!”

Industry analysts warn that while the expanded EMTL will bring more transactions under the tax net, it could reduce the appeal of neobanks, whose edge was in their low or zero transfer fees. Also, consumers, especially those dependent on PoS operators for transactions, will face extra costs.