Some months ago, the Federal government of Nigeria imposed Stamp Duty of N50 on Nigerians. The imposition was made via the Central Bank of Nigeria. According to the regulations of the stamp duty, any Nigerian receiving money into his account will have to part way with up to N50 on every deposit he receives into his account.
The money is to be paid by any Nigerian that receives any money into his account and it does not matter the method via which such a deposit is made. If the person is receiving the money via cheaque, cash or electronic transfer, the N50 will still be deducted. The money is actually going into the purse of the federal government of Nigeria.
The law that guides the deduction of stamp duty of N50 was enacted in 2009, but was not implemented until very recently. This is a way of making Nigerians to contribute to the federation account. It is a method used by the federal government to raise funds for financing the budget via another means since the price of crude oil has fallen greatly over the years and this had reduced how much Nigeria as a country is able to generate on monthly basis
Nigeria depends mostly on oil for her income. Very little is generated from other sources. The Stamp Duty idea is a way of diversifying Nigeria’s economy and generating income for the federal government though another means. It only happens that Nigerians are the ones that are bearing the brunt. The idea of stamp duty does not seem to be bad in the least. However, the question is: will the money be spent as it should be spent?