Nigeria’s Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu has stunned many by insisting that income from any hustle, legal or not, must be taxed, with “runs girls” singled out as an example.
Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, made the revelation in a now-viral video during a tax education session at RCCG, City of David, Lagos.
Oyedele explained that upkeep money given as gifts to family or friends is exempt, but the moment cash is exchanged for a product or service, the law demands its cut.
He said, “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’re sending to someone is money you are giving to them as a gift, that’s not taxable. It is you that should have paid tax before giving them a gift.”
But on services,no matter how controversial, he was blunt.
He added, “If somebody is doing runs girls, right, 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 it does not separate between whether what you are doing is legitimate or not. It just asks you whether you have an income.
“Did you get it from rendering a service or providing a good? You pay tax.”
The tax chief insisted Nigerians should look beyond the buzzwords and grasp the broader reforms, which he described as the most sweeping in history.
He said, “The starting point for me is always to give context. And the first thing, the first message, is a proverbial blind man and an elephant.
“Depending on the side of the elephant that they touched, they concluded what it was, maybe a fan, a wall, or a tree. But none of them got the right answer because they didn’t feel the big picture.”
With over 200 new provisions and more than 400 pages of changes, Oyedele said the new laws, which take effect January, will affect everyone from civil servants to entrepreneurs.
He added, “One thing I can tell you is that the tax reforms enacted into law a few months ago, that will take effect from January next year, is the most transformative, most significant in our nation’s history.
“With over 200 significant changes and more than 400 pages combined, it is very easy and could be tempting to narrow it down to one issue. That would be making the same mistake as the blind man and the elephant.”
