The Federal Government has confirmed that income earned by Nigerians through remote jobs, social media influencing, and import-related businesses will be subject to taxation.
The new fiscal reforms are scheduled to take effect on January 2026, marking a significant shift in the nation’s tax framework.
Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, made this known during a tax education session organised by the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David, Lagos.
In a video that circulated online yesterday, he explained that Nigerians earning income abroad but residing in the country are legally obliged to declare such earnings and pay personal income tax.
He stated that remote employees working for companies outside Nigeria, whether in the United States, Europe or any other region, must self-declare their salaries. “If you are a remote worker, you are a worker, right? You just happen to do your work remotely. You work for a company, that company might be an American company, somewhere in Europe, anywhere, and you earn a salary. That amount of money they pay to you is your salary. You will self-declare it,” he said.
He warned that individuals who fail to declare their income would face penalties, noting that financial inflows can be tracked.
“If you now refuse to declare, the government will see the movement of the money, and say you failed to declare, and they will deem it as your income, charge you tax on it, add penalty, add interest for delayed payments,” he explained.
The committee chair further stressed that the same rule applies to social media influencers who generate revenue online. “So the same thing applies to influencers. You are influencing online, that’s okay. You earn income, you pay tax as well,” Oyedele stated.
On the concerns of importers, he explained that reliefs would be determined by the nature of their business, such as trading or manufacturing.
“Do they have any reliefs? We do look at importers as a separate line of business. So, if you are importing, there’s something you’re doing. It’s either you are into trade, manufacturing, or whatever it is. Depending on the business you are importing to do, you will see some reliefs for that sector,” he said.
Oyedele also addressed fears of overlapping taxation from federal, state, and local authorities. He noted that the new framework simplifies the system by spelling out “jurisdiction” for each tier of government.
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He added that individuals only need to worry about personal income tax, while small businesses are exempted from multiple charges.
“The new law states clearly what taxes are payable, and who they are payable to. There’s a part of the law we call jurisdiction. It says National Revenue Service shall collect these taxes; states shall collect these taxes; local government shall collect these taxes,” he explained.
He further clarified that upkeep allowances or gifts are not taxable, but payments for services or goods will attract tax obligations.
He described the reforms as the most transformative in Nigeria’s history, aimed at reducing multiple taxation disputes, easing compliance, and improving revenue generation for the government.
The announcement had sparked strong reactions on social media, with many Nigerians questioning the government’s sincerity on tax reforms.
On X, a user, @bustasams07, argued that taxation itself was not the problem but lack of accountability: “The real problem is, why are they generating more revenue without seeing the effect of the already generated revenue.”
Another user, @brenokwaraji, accused politicians of misusing public funds, saying: “While you are heavily involved in taking money from Nigerians who basically provide everything for themselves (water, light, roads, security), what efforts are you making that will stop politicians from using our tax to buy Dubai properties for their side chicks?”
User @Dikhed01 criticised the committee chair directly, writing: “It’s official Nigerians are being ruled by retards… You people want to copy other developed countries’ tax systems but failed to paste correctly.”
Similarly, @lekside34 shared a photo and wrote: “My message to you goes thus……” in apparent disapproval of the policy.
The backlash underscores growing concerns among citizens about government transparency, corruption, and the uneven distribution of resources, even as authorities promise that the new framework will reduce multiple taxation and make compliance easier.
Crediblenewsng.com
