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Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? - Webmasters (2) - Nairaland

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Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by Rhaspody(m): 8:30am On Mar 06, 2018
MissAprokoMedia:
Thunder fire the Op for instigating tax in Nigeria.... Na ur money we take start am.... God flush ur brain inside sewage... Better don't quote me or my children will eat u alive

the post is educative. no need to be impolite and rude

2 Likes

Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by abumeinben(m): 8:33am On Mar 06, 2018
holuwajobar:


d law doesnt recognize churches too?

Well I'm not a property consultant, neither am I a lawyer.

I want to believe the church taxing debate is still on.
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by abumeinben(m): 8:35am On Mar 06, 2018
ideologies:
what happens to blogs that are not generating any money

Do NGOs pay tax? They'll have to be registered as Not for Profit blog with NIRA.

1 Like

Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by magictonic(m): 8:41am On Mar 06, 2018
Good thread. Learning a lot here
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by Coldfeets: 8:46am On Mar 06, 2018
I earn from Google AdSense and I don't pay no tax _shit whatsoever!

But I've been thinking, will I be required to pay tax for running something like my private but well earning poultry business?
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by phreakabit(m): 8:47am On Mar 06, 2018
profosa:


We do not operate sales tax in nigeria but. VAT.my guy there are ways to minimise tax agreed but dont say you do not have to pay. VAT is federally collected by FIRS and not by states you reside.a nigerian company advertises on your blog for the the nigerian market that visit your site and you say you would not pay tax on you ad revenue.even foreign companies that earn incime from nigeria,are advised by the FIRS to their agent to self account for taxes. Tax laws cannot be bypassed if you do not pay your fair share of taxes that is while they are coming thru VAIDS.Dont forget they have access to your bank statement.

On the contrary, both Federal and state collect taxes in Nigeria
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by profosa: 8:48am On Mar 06, 2018
abumeinben:


Do NGOs pay tax? They'll have to be registered as Not for Profit blog with NIRA.

If you are not generating income and you are a registered company then tell your auditor to prepare a statement of affair and file same with the FIRs close to you.in addition,for a registered company or enterprise with no income you are expected to file a NIL VAT return with the FIRS monthly.

Duly registered NGO or churches with FIRS do not pay income tax however if they engage contractors or service provider like construction companies or legal firm etc,they are expected to withhold tax and remit in the name of the contractor.however,the contractor would not VAT his invoice.

1 Like

Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by gentle007(m): 8:50am On Mar 06, 2018
In Nigeria, all persons in employment, individuals in business, non residents who derive income from Nigeria as well as companies that operate in Nigeria are liable to pay tax.
Every Nigeria is supposed to have a TIN.
Every business person is supposed to have registered for VAT.
Ignorance is not an excuse.

1 Like

Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by profosa: 8:54am On Mar 06, 2018
phreakabit:


On the contrary, both Federal and state collect taxes in Nigeria

Federal collect VAT,CORPORATE INCOME TAX,EDUCATION TAX,NATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND DEV.AGENCY LEVY ETC

States collect consumption tax so called sales tax from hotel,event centres,restaurants,personal income tax,business registration and renewal

Lga collect property ,signage etc.but some state assembly legislated that these be collected centrally and shared accordingly.

If you drop your email I can send you a copy of the approved taxes and levies act 2015 signed of by ngozi iweala before she left
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by Xisnin(m): 9:01am On Mar 06, 2018
sett1ngz:
why should they? Do they have access to free Wi-Fi or what, or access to 24hrs electricity to aid their blogging?
Rubbish a failed country always looking for a way to meek her citizens dry all to enrich the foolish and selfish public office holders.

Stop being sentimental, if you make profit you must pay tax or end up in jail.
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by Xisnin(m): 9:04am On Mar 06, 2018
MissAprokoMedia:
Thunder fire the Op for instigating tax in Nigeria.... Na ur money we take start am.... God flush ur brain inside sewage... Better don't quote me or my children will eat u alive
Mr. Man pay your tax or risk jail term.
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by profosa: 9:04am On Mar 06, 2018
Even on google adsense payment page,there is a disclaimer that all local VAT or applicable taxes are your responsibility.please and abeg FIRS ia amassing so much information from your bank statements,land documents,over hundreds of countries esp europe and US.just go and get a tax adviser or consultant to go through your records,so that you cann declare thru VAIDS esp. if you.made some serious dough.they would definitely send a tax notice to you
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by Yankee101: 9:45am On Mar 06, 2018
Why not? You earn an income
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by ibietela2(m): 9:58am On Mar 06, 2018
For what na?
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by ibietela2(m): 10:05am On Mar 06, 2018
adioolayi:
Is your company registered with CAC? If Yes, you will pay Tax

Yes
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by ibietela2(m): 10:11am On Mar 06, 2018
I did tax clearance with CAC last year o... I haven't gone there this year sha.
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by LaudableXX: 10:51am On Mar 06, 2018
ideologies:
I pay tax oo

A Nigerian firm called to advertise on my blog, when I sent them card rate, they paid less tax.

Though they don't have my Tax ID.
Less TAX? Was payment made less withholding tax? If they deducted WHT from your payment, then ask for the WHT certificate/receipt, to show they paid it to govt. And request that it should be done in your name! You can present this as part of tax payments made in your favour, if the tax authorities demand for evidence of tax payment.
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by abumeinben(m): 11:15am On Mar 06, 2018
profosa:


If you are not generating income and you are a registered company then tell your auditor to prepare a statement of affair and file same with the FIRs close to you.in addition,for a registered company or enterprise with no income you are expected to file a NIL VAT return with the FIRS monthly.

Duly registered NGO or churches with FIRS do not pay income tax however if they engage contractors or service provider like construction companies or legal firm etc,they are expected to withhold tax and remit in the name of the contractor.however,the contractor would not VAT his invoice.

Easy there prof!

You're speaking with one who finds it not so easy to understand taxing.
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by holuwajobar(m): 1:16pm On Mar 06, 2018
abumeinben:

Well I'm not a property consultant, neither am I a lawyer.
I want to believe the church taxing debate is still on.

ok.
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by ashiraf(m): 3:20pm On Mar 06, 2018
yes they can pay but there taxi should not be high..
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by ideologies(m): 3:56pm On Mar 07, 2018
profosa:


My guy they most likely deducted withholding tax.but paid over your VAT except it is a government agency or major oil company it would also deduct VAT.your withholding tax rate is 10% for a limited liability company or 5% if an individual or enterprise because your service is professional in nature.

Please your tax issue does not end there,you need to follow up with the company that withheld to give you an evidence of payment that you would now submit to clear your annual income tax liability whether as an induvidual or company.if the payment is not enough you pay the rest via cash
Na Ambode or Fashola send you!

I will pay more tax if I see better things than just feeding politicians

1 Like

Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by deturla: 5:00pm On Mar 07, 2018
If you require more information of taxation of SMEs in Nigeria.

Do not fail to reach out to the taxProf on admin@taxprof.com.ng

https://taxprof.com.ng
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by Emeka71(m): 5:02pm On Mar 07, 2018
deturla:
Are Bloggers Expected to Pay Tax (Part 2)

SHOULD BLOGGERS BE TAXED?

The answer is YES and NO. We could look at this from the angle of the LAW and from the angle of the determination on the basis of what ‘mode’ of blogging is in perspective. The first question to ask is are certain bloggers hobby bloggers or professional bloggers.

Empirically speaking, bloggers and freelancers and webmasters and other people who offer specialized online services in different genres may be considered owners of their own businesses, and or people who get paid for using their talent and or acquired skill.

Bloggers and webmasters usually earn income from advertising and from selling their services. Other online professionals, such as virtual assistants, social media strategists, SEO specialists, content writers and website designers usually earn income from selling their services. In this case Bloggers may be considered as self-employed individuals.

It is true that in Nigeria, the Federal Inland Revenue Service is still battling with making e-commerce generally and blogging a taxable means of earning income – there are a lots of issues trying to establish whether blogging is seen as a hobby or as a professional means of doing business. But it is also important to note that bloggers do native advertising of company’s products.

For example on Linda Ikeji’s blog, a lot of advertising is done for a lot of companies ranging from small businesses to multinational corporations who leverage on the traffic on her page to promote their business concerns. On that count, it will not be fair not to consider that a taxable income, since we have companies whose revenue are stemmed from advertisement itself.

Further, freelance writers and online professionals may argue that their services are immaterial and therefore cannot be taxed. A blog can be seen as a publishing company of some sort, just like a media house which owns print and electronic publishing platforms. In that case, the argument for it being taxable carries the day. Besides, there are offline strategic partnerships that ensue from just promoting a business, from where a blogger earns big.

There is also the direct advertisement angle of blogging. This is a complete taxable income and incurs some tax liability too.

So yes, bloggers are required to pay tax. But that isn’t all there is to it. there are few pertinent questions and clearances that are critical to the understanding of this discourse.

Let’s get to the difference between a professional and a Hobby blogger:

The truth remains that blogging is a painstaking, sometimes difficult venture that requires consistency, persistence, and hard research as well as passion. A lot of people consider blogging to be somewhat of a pastime, but there are levels when it crosses the line and becomes a full time and rewarding business. However, this takes time and nurturing.

In the Companies income tax act, Section 9:

PART II

Imposition of tax and profits chargeable

Charge of tax
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the tax shall, for each year of assessment, be payable at the rate specified in subsection (1) of section 40 of this Act upon the profits of any company accruing in, derived from, brought into, or received in, Nigeria in respect of‐

(a) any trade or business for whatever period of time such trade or business may have been carried on;

(b) rent or any premium arising from a right granted to any other person for the use or occupation of any property; and where any payment on account of such a rent as is mentioned in this paragraph is made before the expiration of the period to which it relates and is included for the purposes of this paragraph in the profits of a company, then, so much of the payment as relates to any period beginning with the date on which the payment is made shall be treated for these purposes as accruing to the company proportionately from day to day over the last‐mentioned period or over the five years beginning with that date, whichever is the shorter;

(c) dividends, interests, royalties, discounts, charges or annuities;

(d) any source of annual profits or gains not falling within the preceding categories;

(e) any amount deemed to be income or profit under a provision of this Act or, with respect to any benefit arising from a pension or provident fund, of the Personal Income Tax Act;

(f) fees, dues and allowances (wherever paid) for services rendered;

While this may be seem confusing to a lot of bloggers out there, simply put this explanation this way, income tax will be levied on any form of trade or business for as long as the business has been carried on over years.


Therefore it is important to ascertain whether business transactions are being consummated, services are being provided, direct advertisement are being done from an blogging platform. This can be used to address the issue on whether a blogger is an hobby blogger or a professional blogger cum business owner.

The following characterization helps to draw the line, however fine, between blogging for fun and making money out of it:

Hobby bloggers do it mainly for fun and leisure, not necessarily for the money, although money can also come in through Google Adsense and traffic, but it will be limited. On the other hand, business bloggers want to make money through it.

Hobby bloggers may or may not have specific area of specialization when it comes to topics, but professionals usually focus on niches where they feel more comfortable to blog about, like lifestyle, sport, health, entertainment, politics, etc.

You can't get on to this highly expository content on:

https://www.taxprof.com.ng/are-bloggers-expected-to-pay-tax-part-2/amp/

Lalasticlala.. Please help share.
Then there would be lots of tax evasion.
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by deturla: 5:16pm On Mar 09, 2018
Emeka71:
Then there would be lots of tax evasion.

You think so?
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by Emeka71(m): 7:11pm On Mar 19, 2018
deturla:

You think so?
Of course.
Re: Are Nigerian Bloggers Expected To Pay Tax? by LaudableXX: 7:37pm On Mar 19, 2018
profosa:
My guy they most likely deducted withholding tax.but paid over your VAT except it is a government agency or major oil company it would also deduct VAT.your withholding tax rate is 10% for a limited liability company or 5% if an individual or enterprise because your service is professional in nature.

Please your tax issue does not end there,you need to follow up with the company that withheld to give you an evidence of payment that you would now submit to clear your annual income tax liability whether as an induvidual or company.if the payment is not enough you pay the rest via cash

Wrong, sir. sad Withholding Tax varies from 5% to 10%, depending on the nature of the goods or services being supplied by a company. Consultancy services are subjected to 10% WHT, while Withholding tax rate for construction-related payments, is subject to 5%, and Dividends, Interest, Rent etc are 10% WHT, for example. Kindly go and check.

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