The Federal Government has said that ‘runs girls’ (commercial sex workers) will pay tax under the new laws.
Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, said this during an engagement session at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David, Lagos.
The tax expert said: “If somebody is doing runs girls (sex workers), right, they go and look for men to sleep with. You know that’s a service. They will pay tax on it.”
According to him, the new laws do not differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate income sources. “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 explained.
Explaining further, Oyedele said that money sent to relatives, friends, or even strangers is not taxable, as it is considered a gift.
He said: “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.
“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.”
REPORTERS AT LARGE recalls that the new (reformed) laws are the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act.
