‘Sex workers, agberos’ — Taiwo Oyedele says everybody is required to declare their income

Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the presidential fiscal policy and tax reforms committee, says every Nigerian who earns an income has a responsibility to declare it.

On June 26, President Bola Tinubu signed the four tax reform bills into law, and they are expected to take effect on January 1, 2026.

Answering questions during an interactive session with journalists, influencers, and public analysts on the new tax laws on Friday, Oyedele said the obligation to “self-declare” income has always existed in law and is not a fresh imposition.

“Sex workers, agberos, you know what I said is, everybody has the responsibility to self-declare. That is the first obligation in the law,” he said.

“The other thing I said is, these new tax laws are not imposing taxes on anyone who was not taxable before. So, the existing laws we have already require that if you earn income, you pay tax on it.

“If I am an agbero, which is I am calling people to enter the vehicle and I get paid, how is that different from the waiter in this hotel? How is it different from an accountant? How is it different from a factory worker? So, we cannot now say that agberos are exempted from tax. I know the sex workers thing is being sensationalised.”

The chairman said tax authorities globally do not make exemptions on the basis of morality or legality.

“There are court judgments all over the world to say that when it comes to tax matters, there are no questions about morality or legality,” Oyedele said.

“Otherwise, if the tax law exempts immoral activities and illegal activities, I will just make my work become illegal so I don’t pay tax.

“Around the world, the tax authorities and the tax laws tax you on your income, whether it is legal or not, whether it is moral or not. In fact, the IRS in the U.S., they had a notice that says, if you steal, you must declare it for tax purposes.”

‘UNDECLARED INCOME CAN BE TRACED’

The fiscal policy chairman said the system also has ways to validate income even when taxpayers fail to self-declare.

“If the Agbero does not declare and the journalist does not declare, how do we find out? It is the system validation because when you earn money, if you don’t tell us, you do three things with the money you earn. You either spend or you save or you invest. All of that you do with third parties, and it can be validated,” he said.

Oyedele had said income earned by commercial sex workers will be taxed under the new system.

The tax expert said the new laws do not distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate sources of income — but focus on whether money was earned from goods or services.