By Juliet Umeh
The Digital Assets Coalition has urged the Federal Government to review the newly introduced Guidelines on the Taxation of Virtual Assets, warning that the framework could undermine Nigeria’s estimated $92 billion digital assets market and weaken its position as Sub-Saharan Africa’s leading cryptocurrency economy.
The coalition, an alliance of digital asset operators and stakeholders in Nigeria, made the call on Thursday during the presentation of its position paper titled, “Tax the Profit, Not the Movement of Money,” at a press conference in Lagos.
While supporting the taxation of virtual assets, the group argued that the current framework focuses on taxing the movement of money rather than actual profits, a development it said could discourage innovation, drive transactions to offshore platforms and ultimately reduce government revenue.
Speaking at the briefing, spokesperson of the coalition, Obinna Iwuno, said the industry was not opposed to taxation but sought a system that was fair, practical and consistent with global best practices.
