ABUJA, Nigeria — Commercial sex workers in Nigeria will be required to pay taxes on their earnings under new fiscal reforms set to take effect next year, according to Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms.
In a video posted on X on Monday, September 29, 2025, Oyedele explained that the new tax framework does not distinguish between lawful and unlawful sources of income but instead focuses on whether money was earned through 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,” Oyedele said.
“One thing about the tax law, it does not separate between whether what you are 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? Then, you pay tax.”
The remark highlights the broad reach of the new tax regime, which seeks to expand Nigeria’s revenue base.
In contrast, Oyedele clarified that gifts such as upkeep money sent to relatives, friends or strangers are not taxable.
“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 are sending is money you are giving to them not because they have done something for you, then it is a gift. We call it a non-exchange transaction. That is not taxable,” he said.
He noted that while the giver of the gift is expected to have already paid tax on their income, recipients are not liable to further tax obligations.
The reforms stem from four bills signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on June 26: the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act.
The legislation, recently gazetted, is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.
