Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms, has revealed that income earned by commercial sex workers will be subject to taxation under the new tax regime.
Oyedele made the comments in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, where he cited examples of taxable income under the updated laws. The tax expert explained that the new regulations do not differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate sources of income but rather focus on whether the 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.
He further clarified, “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.”
In contrast, Oyedele said that money sent as upkeep to relatives, friends, or even strangers is regarded as a gift and therefore not subject to taxation.
“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,” Oyedele explained.
He added that while the giver of such gifts is expected to have already paid tax on their income, recipients of these gifts are not liable for further tax obligations.
Earlier this year, on June 26, President Bola Tinubu signed four key tax reform bills into law. These include the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act.
The newly enacted tax laws, which were recently gazetted, are scheduled to take effect starting January 1, 2026.
