The Federal Government has reiterated that all income earned in Nigeria is subject to taxation, including money made by sex workers, so-called ‘runs girls’.
Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, made the clarification yesterday, during a tax education session held by the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David, Lagos. A video of the session has since gone viral online.
Oyedele emphasised that while all earnings are taxable, funds sent to dependents or relatives for upkeep are exempt. He described these transfers as “non-exchange transactions”, meaning they do not constitute taxable income.
He said, “You earn a certain amount of money, and you have to send upkeep to your cousin, your brother, even a stranger, it doesn’t really matter. If the amount you’re sending to someone is money you are giving to them as a gift, that’s not taxable. It is you that should have paid tax before giving them a gift”.
However, he stressed that once payment is made for a service or product, the law requires taxation—regardless of whether the activity itself is legitimate.
He added, “If somebody is doing runs girls, they go and look for men to sleep with; you know that’s a service; they will pay tax on it.
“One thing about the tax law is it does not separate between whether what you are doing is legitimate or not. It just asks you whether you have an income. Did you get it from rendering a service or providing a good? You pay tax”.
Oyedele, however, urged Nigerians to look at the broader context of the new reforms, which he described as the most far-reaching in the nation’s history.
“The starting point for me is always to give context. And the first thing, the first message, is a proverbial blind man and an elephant. Depending on the side of the elephant that they touched, they concluded what it was, maybe a fan, a wall, or a tree. But none of them got the right answer because they didn’t feel the big picture”, he stated.
According to him, the same mistake could be made if citizens focus only on one aspect of the sweeping tax changes. The reforms, he said, would impact individuals, business owners, employees, employers, and civil servants, with the aim of simplifying the tax system and improving compliance.
Recall that Nigeria’s new tax laws, taking effect from January 1, 2026, consolidate existing statutes into a single regime to simplify compliance and end multiple taxation disputes.
The reforms exempt workers earning below ₦800,000 from personal income tax, while companies with turnover up to ₦100m and assets not exceeding N250m are exempt from company income tax, capital gains tax and the new development levy.
