Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has said every Nigerian, including prostitutes and egberos, who earns an income has a responsibility to declare it.
President Bola Tinubu has signed the four tax reform bills into law, and they are set to take effect from January 1, 2026.
Answering questions during an interactive session with journalists, influencers, and public analysts on the new tax laws on Friday, Oyedele said the obligation to “self-declare” income has always existed in law and is not a fresh imposition.
“Sex workers, agberos, you know what I said is, everybody has the responsibility to self-declare. That is the first obligation in the law,” he said.
“The other thing I said is, these new tax laws are not imposing taxes on anyone who was not taxable before. So, the existing laws we have already require that if you earn income, you pay tax on it.
“If I am an agbero, which is I am calling people to enter the vehicle and I get paid, how is that different from the waiter in this hotel? How is it different from an accountant? How is it different from a factory worker? So, we cannot now say that agberos are exempted from tax. I know the sex workers thing is being sensationalised.”
The chairman said tax authorities globally do not make exemptions on the basis of morality or legality.
“There are court judgments all over the world to say that when it comes to tax matters, there are no questions about morality or legality,” Oyedele said.
“Otherwise, if the tax law exempts immoral activities and illegal activities, I will just make my work become illegal so I don’t pay tax.
“Around the world, the tax authorities and the tax laws tax you on your income, whether it is legal or not, whether it is moral or not. In fact, the IRS in the U.S., they had a notice that says, if you steal, you must declare it for tax purposes.”
