The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria is working on a plan to tax crypto transactions as part of a broader effort to increase government income, Bloomberg reported on 18 February.
According to the report, the regulatory authority is planning to bring eligible crypto transactions to licensed fairs under the tax framework of the country. In the meantime, a bill that outlines the tax structure is assessed and can be approved within the quarter.
Although the SEC has not announced the expected income from this initiative, officials believe that it will generate a considerable amount because Nigeria is one of the leading countries in the acceptance of crypto.
Some exchanges have already started implementing tax measures. Kucin, an important trading platform in Nigeria, started to collect a 7.5% tax with added value (VAT) for trading costs of his Nigerian users last year.
In the meantime, industry experts suggest that tax policy can indicate a shift in the position of the government in relation to crypto. Last year the SEC implemented a license frame that provisional licenses has issued on platforms such as Busha and Quidax as registered virtual asseters (VASPs).
Walking Binance -Safe
The tax development comes in the midst of the continuous impasse of Nigeria with Binance. In the past year, the authorities have clashed with the worldwide exchange about compliance with the regulations.
On February 14, the Minister of Information and National Orientation of Nigeria, Mohammed Idris, rejected bribery covers rejected by Binance Executive Tigran Gambaryan and urged the public to ignore them.
Gambaryan had claimed that Nigerian officials were looking for bribes from Binance representatives and accusations denied that crypto exchanges manipulated Naira.
However, the authorities denied the allegations and said:
“We categorically deny Mr. Gambaryan’s retaliation claims against Nigerian officials involved in his case, and we urge the public to ignore these false accusations in their entirety.”
The authorities also accused Binance of an attempt to pay a down payment of $ 5 million to secure the release of Gambaryan.
Ultimately, the government stated that instead it reached a diplomatic agreement with the US for his release on humanitarian grounds.