‘Runs girls’, social media influencers in Nigeria to pay tax – FG

The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has said that Nigeria’s new tax reform laws make no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate forms of work, stressing that anyone earning income will be required to pay tax.

Speaking during a session on “Tax Compliance and Planning” with the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) on September 26 streamed live on the church’s YouTube page, Mr. Oyedele explained that the laws apply to all income-generating activities.

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.

“If someone is rendering a service, such a person will pay tax,” he said. “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.”

He stressed that the law does not ask whether the work is legal or illegal, but simply whether income was earned from goods or services provided.

The tax reforms, signed into law in June 2025, consolidate the Nigerian Tax Act, the Nigerian Tax Administration Act, the Nigerian Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act.

While the Nigerian Revenue Service Act and Joint Revenue Board Act are set to take effect from June 26, 2025, the Nigerian Tax Act and Nigerian Tax Administration Act will commence on January 1, 2026.

Oyedele also disclosed that social media influencers and remote workers earning in foreign currency are included under the new framework, as part of efforts to broaden Nigeria’s revenue base amid falling oil income and growing fiscal pressures.

At the same time, he clarified that the reforms are designed to ease the tax burden on 90 percent of Nigerian workers.