Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has clarified that under Nigeria’s forthcoming revamped tax framework, income from all services, including sex work, is taxable.
He emphasized that the new system is solely focused on income generation, stating that the tax law “does not separate between whether what you are doing is legitimate or not, it doesn’t even ask you.”
If you earn income from rendering a service or providing a good, you pay tax.
Oyedele also took time to distinguish taxable income from non-taxable gifts or “non-exchange transactions.”
He explained that money sent as upkeep to relatives or even strangers—where the recipient has not provided a service in return—is considered a gift.
The key differentiator is the absence of an exchange. “That is not taxable,” he confirmed.
The rationale is that the individual providing the gift is presumed to have already paid tax on their original income, meaning the recipient is not subject to additional tax obligations on that specific amount.
This new tax framework is based on the four tax reform bills signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on June 26, including the Nigeria Tax Act and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act.
These newly gazetted laws are set to comprehensively reshape the nation’s fiscal landscape and will officially take effect on January 1, 2026.
The reforms are geared toward expanding the tax net, promoting equity, and reducing the nation’s reliance on oil revenue.