Prostitutes, influencers, freelancers, others to pay tax in Nigeria

Starting January 2026, no source of income in Nigeria, licit or illicit, will escape taxation under President Bola Tinubu’s sweeping tax reforms.

Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, made this clear during a presentation at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David parish in Lagos on Sunday, September 28, 2025.

According to gazettengr.com, Oyedele explained that the new law does not distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate income streams.

He stressed that every transaction that generates money, whether professional services, digital content creation, or even prostitution, will be taxed.

“If somebody is doing ‘runs girls’ [sex workers], they go and look for men to sleep with, that’s a service. They will pay tax on it,” he told the congregation.

According to him, the law is only concerned with whether income has been earned, not how it was made.

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“One thing about tax law is it doesn’t separate whether what you’re doing is legitimate or not; it doesn’t even ask you. It just asks; did you earn an income from rendering a service or providing a good? Then you pay tax,” Oyedele explained.

Chairman of Nigeria’s Fiscal Policies and Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele

The tax reforms chief pointed out that for decades, prostitution and other underground trades have existed in a grey area, ignored and untaxed. This, he said, is why Tinubu’s government is determined to tap every possible revenue stream to revive Nigeria’s struggling economy.

Meanwhile, the new reforms will not only cover sex workers but also extend to influencers and freelancers, particularly those earning foreign income through digital platforms and remote work.

MA