Nigeria, Feb. 8 -- When Okonkwo Azuka, an Abuja-based furniture maker, got his first contract of the year, the work itself was not the problem; payment was.

Mr Azuka had agreed to build a set of mini sofas for about N500,000. As the customer prepared to pay, he began to entertain fears, eventually asking whether the payment would be made in cash.

He said he felt uneasy about receiving the funds through a bank transfer, worried that the new tax laws could expose him to deductions or charges he did not understand.

"I don't want government taking something I don't even know about," he said, asking whether the customer would also "pay tax on top" of the agreed price.

There is no provision in the law for banks to automatically deduct perso...