HOW REMOTE WORKERS, INFLUENCERS WILL PAY TAX UNDER NEW LAW – OYEDELE
Read Time:3 Minute, 46 Second
The Federal Government has elucidated that income generated by Nigerians, whether through remote employment, social media influencing, or business imports, will be subject to taxation under the new tax reforms that will take effect on January 1, 2026.
The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, provided this clarification during a tax education seminar organized by the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David, Lagos.
In a video that circulated on social media on Tuesday, Oyedele emphasized that Nigerians employed remotely by foreign companies are legally obligated to declare their earnings and pay taxes in Nigeria.
He stated, “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. Because if your employer were to be in Nigeria, they will deduct and pay on your behalf. Because your employer is not in Nigeria, they don’t care about the Nigerian tax system.”
Oyedele further mentioned that remote workers who neglect to declare their income will be identified and sanctioned.
“So the obligation falls on you to self-declare. 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 stated.
He emphasized that the same regulations pertain to social media influencers who earn income online, asserting, “So the same thing applies to influencers. You are influencing online, that’s okay. You earn income, you pay tax as well.”
Oyedele also addressed inquiries from importers, indicating that tax reliefs would be contingent on the nature of their business, whether it be trading, manufacturing, or other sectors.
READ ALSO:
JONATHAN LEGALLY ELIGIBLE TO RUN IN 2027 – ONOH REPLIES ONANUGA
“The next question is importers. 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 explained.
Addressing apprehensions regarding overlapping taxes from federal, state, and local authorities, he clarified that the new law explicitly delineates the “jurisdiction” for each level of government.
“Someone is concerned about paying federal and state taxes. How will they be able to differentiate? ” he noted.
Oyedele continued, “The new law states clearly what taxes are payable, and who they are payable to. So, there’s a part of the law that we call jurisdiction. It says National Revenue Service shall collect these taxes. States shall collect these taxes. Local government shall collect these taxes.
“You don’t need to even worry about all of them. You just need to say, who are you? If you are an individual, just worry about personal income tax.”
“If you are doing small business, we remove your taxes. The only one we are trying to deal with now is local government one. If you are a big business, maybe you should have an accountant that will advise you.
“So at the end of the day, whatever number of taxes you are paying now is reduced significantly to a few. And in the tax law, you will see there what taxes you need to pay, who you need to pay to, and when you need to pay those taxes.”
The press reports that Oyedele previously remarked that all forms of income are subject to taxation under Nigerian law, including the earnings derived from sex work.
He clarified that maintenance payments or gifts are not subject to taxation; however, remuneration for any service or product incurs tax liabilities.
Oyedele characterized the new framework as the “most transformative in the nation’s history,” designed to simplify compliance, mitigate disputes related to multiple taxation, and enhance government revenue.
In a report outlining key aspects of the new tax regulations, the media indicated that the reforms exempt employees earning below N800,000 from personal income tax, while enterprises with a turnover up to N100 million and assets not exceeding N250 million are exempt from corporate income tax, capital gains tax, and the new development levy.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0