
The Federal Government has said that all income earned in Nigeria, including money made by โruns girls,โ is taxable under the law.
Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, stated this in a now-viral video from a tax education session by the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David, Lagos.
Oyedele explained that upkeep money sent to dependants or relatives is not taxable, describing such transfers as โnon-exchange transactions.โ
He said, โYou earn a certain amount of money and you have to send upkeep to your cousin, your brother, even a stranger, it doesnโt really matter.
โIf the amount youโre sending to someone is money you are giving to them as a gift, thatโs not taxable. It is you that should have paid tax before giving them a gift.โ
However, he stressed that once payment is made for a service or product, the law requires taxationโregardless of whether the activity itself is legitimate.
He added, โIf somebody is doing runs girls, right, they go and look for men to sleep with, you know thatโs a service, they will pay tax on it.
โOne 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.
โDid you get it from rendering a service or providing a good? You pay tax.โ
Oyedele, however, urged Nigerians to look at the broader context of the new reforms, which he described as the most far-reaching in the nationโs history.
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Credit: punch