By SpringnewsNG Media Limited
Published: May 14, 2025

The United States Congress is considering a new bill http://The United States Congress is considering a new billthat could impose a 5% tax on all international money transfers, potentially impacting millions of Nigerians and other immigrants who send funds to their home countries.

According to the draft bill released Monday by House Republicans, the proposed remittance tax targets money sent abroad, a move critics say could financially burden immigrant families.

Nigeria’s Central Bank (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, revealed that official diaspora remittances through licensed money transfer operators hit $4.22 billion between January and October 2024. Although the CBN did not specify how much of that came from the U.S., analysts believe a significant portion originated from Nigerian immigrants residing in America.

The bill text reads:

“There is hereby imposed on any remittance transfer a tax equal to 5 percent of the amount of such transfer.”

This remittance tax would be paid by the sender and remitted quarterly to the U.S. Treasury. However, U.S. citizens who are verified senders may claim the tax as a credit.

The bill also provides an exemption for senders using “qualified remittance transfer providers,” provided both the sender and the transfer company meet federal verification standards.

This proposed tax comes amid a wave of restrictive U.S. policy changes under Donald Trump’s influence. In January, immigration authorities flagged nearly two million undocumented individuals for possible deportation. Around the same time, reports surfaced of Trump’s plan to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants.

Further escalating tensions, Trump announced sweeping new tariffs in March—14% on Nigerian imports and a steep hike on Chinese goods from 104% to 125%, following China’s own 84% tariff increase.

These combined measures have sparked concern among immigrant communities, economists, and foreign governments, who fear the financial and diplomatic consequences of America’s evolving stance on immigration and trad