Nigeria’s new tax laws will require commercial sex workers, locally known as “runs girls,” to pay tax on their earnings, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, made the comment during an engagement session at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David, Lagos.
“If somebody is doing runs girls (sex worker), right, they go and look for men to sleep with. You know that’s a service. They will pay tax on it,” Oyedele said.
The tax reform chief explained that the new legislation does not distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate sources of income.
“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,” he said.
However, he clarified that money sent to relatives, friends or strangers is not taxable, provided it is given as a gift.
“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,” Oyedele said. “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.”
The new legal framework includes the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act.