Runs Girls, Yahoo Boys, All Must Pay Tax Under New Law — FG

Nigeria’s new tax regime will drag everyone with an income into the tax net, including commercial sex workers and internet fraudsters, according to Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.

In a video posted on X on Monday, Oyedele made it clear that the new laws do not discriminate between legitimate and illegitimate sources of income. What matters, he said, is whether money was earned from providing goods or services.

“There is this extreme example… if somebody is doing runs, they go and look for men to sleep with. You know that is a service, they will pay tax on it,” he said.

“The law does not ask whether what you are doing is legitimate or not. It only asks one question: did you earn money from providing a service or selling a product? If yes, you pay tax.”

By contrast, upkeep money sent to relatives, friends or even strangers is classified as a gift and remains tax-free.

“If the amount you are sending is money you are giving not because they have done something for you, then it is a gift… that is not taxable,” Oyedele explained, noting that the giver is expected to have already paid tax on their income.

The clarification follows President Bola Tinubu’s assent to four new tax reform laws in June, namely, the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act.

The laws, recently gazetted, take effect from January 1, 2026, and are set to radically reshape Nigeria’s tax system by extending obligations to every source of income, legal or otherwise.