In an unprecedented and controversial move, President Bola Tinubu’s administration is set to cast the widest-possible tax net over the nation, with the government’s chief fiscal architect confirming that all forms of income including earnings from prostitution, popularly known as “runs” will be subject to taxation beginning January .
Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policies and Reforms, delivered the bombshell declaration on Saturday while educating members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), City of David parish, in Lagos about the newly signed tax reforms.
The Tax Mandate: Services for Money
Oyedele explicitly stated that the incoming tax regime, signed into law by President Tinubu in June, is blind to the source’s legality, focusing only on the exchange of money for a service or good.
Addressing the congregation, Oyedele offered a stark example of the policy’s comprehensive reach:
“If somebody is doing run girls, they go and look for men to sleep with; you know that’s a service,” Mr. Oyedele explained. “They will pay tax on it.”
He clarified that the foundational principle of the new tax law is its lack of capacity to distinguish between legitimate and illicit funds, effectively deeming all generated income taxable.
“One thing about the tax law is it doesn’t separate whether what you’re doing is legitimate or not; it doesn’t even ask you. It just asks you whether you have an income. Did you get it from rendering a service or providing a good? You pay tax,” the tax czar asserted.
Aggressive Revenue Drive Targets Untaxed Sectors
For decades, sexual transactions and other grey-market activities have remained largely unchecked and untaxed by previous administrations. The Tinubu government’s willingness to explore this channel signals an aggressive push to generate revenue and buoy Nigeria’s ailing economy.
The comprehensive New Tax Act is poised to revolutionize revenue collection by targeting previously untapped digital and non-traditional income streams. Beyond the controversial taxing of the sex trade, the reforms will also focus scrutiny on high-earning digital professionals, specifically:
- Social Media Influencers
- Remote Workers earning in foreign currency
Project Inauguration activities, according to the FCTA, are scheduled to run until late October, after which more projects vital to the economy and the city’s landscape will be unveiled from November. Oyedele’s statements confirm that every available revenue source is now on the administration’s radar as the deadline approaches.
