Bola Tinubu’s administration says Nigerians engaging in sex work, popularly known as “runs,” will be compelled to pay tax from January 2026.
The chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policies and Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, told worshippers at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David parish in Lagos, that the new law signed by Tinubu in June makes no distinction between legitimate and illicit earnings.
“The administration will levy taxes on all services rendered in exchange for money, a rule that applies to sexual transactions,” Mr Oyedele explained.
“If somebody is doing run girls, they go and look for men to sleep with; you know that’s a service,” Mr Oyedele said. “They will pay tax on it.”
He added that the law does not have the capacity to determine the legality of income, but only recognises that money has been earned.
“One thing about the tax law is it doesn’t separate whether what you’re doing is legitimate or not; it doesn’t even ask you,” Mr Oyedele said. “It just asks you whether you have an income. Did you get it from rendering a service or providing a good? You pay tax.”
For decades, the Nigerian government has ignored prostitution and other sexual trades, leaving them untaxed, but Tinubu’s administration now seeks to tap them as a source of revenue.
The New Tax Act also extends to social media influencers and Nigerians working remotely while earning in foreign currencies.
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