FG to start receiving tax from commercial sex workers in Nigeria

The Federal Government is set to be recieving tax mandates from all income earners, including commercial sex workers, from January 2026.

The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, on Saturday, educated members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David parish in Lagos, on the reforms of the tax law signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in June

He disclosed that the tax reforms make no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate forms of work.

Recall that the tax reforms consolidate four key legislations: the Nigerian Tax Act (NTA), the Nigerian Tax Administration Act (NTAA), the Nigerian Revenue Service (Establishment) Act (NRSEA), and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act (JRBEA).

The NTA and NTAA are scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2026, while the NRSEA and JRBEA will commence on 26 June 2025.

Responding to questions from both in-person and virtual participants during the RCCG programme, streamed on the church’s YouTube page, Oyedele stated that anyone providing a service would be required to pay tax.

He cited sex workers, commonly referred to as “runs girls,” as an example, stressing that they too would be included in the drive to broaden Nigeria’s revenue base.

Oyedele noted: “If someone is rendering a service, such a person will pay tax. There’s this extreme example that you probably should not even say in a church, but just to bring it home, if somebody is doing runs with 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 that it does not separate whether what you are doing is legitimate. It doesn’t even ask you. It just asks you whether you have an income. Did you get it from renting a service or providing a good, you pay tax? So if you give upkeep to anyone, they’re free. They won’t pay tax.”

He added that the new Tax Act would also cover social media influencers and remote workers earning income in foreign currency.

Oyedele clarified that the proposed tax reform bills would ease the tax burden on 90 per cent of Nigerian workers.