₦airaland Forum

Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has revealed that Nigeria has entered into agreements with over 100 countries to gather data of remote workers in a bid to enforce tax remittance.

Speaking during a webinar hosted by the National Orientation Agency on Wednesday, themed ‘Simplifying Nigeria’s Tax System’, Oyedele addressed concerns about taxation in the digital economy, particularly for remote workers and online income earners.

Oyedele noted that regardless of the company or country, every remote worker in Nigeria is obligated to declare their income by themselves.

“For the other categories of people who work online, the kind of people you spoke about, where companies just outsource something to them…you might have five stars, another person has 50.

“The requirement under this new law is that everybody, whether you earn your money from Google or whether you earn it from XYZ Limited in the Bahamas, you have to declare your income yourself. If you fail to do it, the system will then gather intelligence, which is when the money hits your bank account.”


Nigeria partners over 100 countries to gather data
Oyedele said the government has a record of transactions coming into the country, and has signed agreement with over 100 countries to gather data and track Nigerians with money and properties abroad.

“We see this money coming to your Dollar Bank account. If you put the money abroad, Nigeria has signed an agreement with over 100 countries under what is called the Common Reporting Standards. They are already sending us data about Nigerians who have money abroad, property abroad, whether it’s Dubai to the US to Canada to the UK. We have all that information already.”

Oyedele advised Nigerians to “do the right thing”, otherwise, the government will come knocking.

“Essentially, my point is, if it’s about data, the government can get the data. The primary obligation is to do the right thing yourself. If you fail to do it, the government will then come back to you and say, ‘We know this about you, you haven’t been honest, here’s your presumptive assessment. ’ And at that point, you have to deal with it”

Engagement with big tech companies
He recounted how Nigeria began engaging with big tech companies three to four years ago, challenging the disparity between traditional businesses and online platforms regarding Value Added Tax (VAT).

“If you are doing your business, brick and mortar, pop and mom shop, and you sell a phone and you charge VAT, why should the person that is selling it online not charge VAT?” he said. “We went to these guys and said the services you render is liable to VAT. You are getting an undue advantage by doing it from abroad.”

Oyedele emphasized that the government adopted a collaborative approach rather than confrontation, resulting in successful agreements with the tech firms.

“We spoke to them, what are your concerns, how can we make it work, and we landed on an agreement. Today I can tell you Nigeria is making billions of dollars from those taxes, from those digital giants without fighting.”

Legislative errors and corrections
Oyedele acknowledged inconsistencies in the recently signed tax legislation, particularly regarding turnover thresholds.

“Section 147 of the Nigerian Tax Administration Act says N100 million. Section 202 of the Nigerian Tax Act says N50 million for turnover,” he noted. “The answer to your question is yes, it was an error.”

He explained that the discrepancy arose during the gazetting process after President Bola Tinubu signed the bills into law on June 26, 2025.

“The Department of Government that is supposed to do the gazetting… said they’ve never done anything like that before,” Oyedele said. “In the process of editing, typesetting, the 50 that was there originally went into one of the laws.”

Despite spending three months trying to correct the gazette, the committee decided to proceed with implementation while preparing a list of amendments for next year.

“The minimum threshold for exemption is 100 million. That’s what you’ll find when the regulations are out,” he confirmed. “Let’s move forward so our good becomes better than wait until it is best.”

What you should know
Oyedele clarified that Nigeria’s new Capital Gains Tax (CGT) framework will not retroactively tax investment gains made before 2026.

This is according to a statement released by the committee detailing key provisions of the CGT reform set to take effect from January 1, 2026, under the proposed Nigeria Tax Act 2025.

At the heart of the clarification is a cost basis reset and a grandfathering clause designed to preserve old gains while applying tax only to new profits made after the reform takes effect.

jideflash:
not a bad one. you cant be earning and not paying your tax in nigeria

Stephen0mozzy:
Hahahahahahahaha....
1. But we can not track the excesses of government spending that have zero impact on the grassroots.

2. We cannot track corrupt government officials who siphon public funds.

3. And the elephant in the room, we cannot track therrohrist sponsors nor the tehrrorists.

4. We cannot track the bad roads and poor drainage system across the country that has turned businesses to grahveyards and landlords to tenants

BlackViper:
https://nairametrics.com/2025/11/13/tax-nigeria-partners-with-over-100-countries-to-track-remote-workers-income-oyedele/

BlackViper:
https://nairametrics.com/2025/11/13/tax-nigeria-partners-with-over-100-countries-to-track-remote-workers-income-oyedele/

muyico:
This adminstration sha want use tax kill person

jideflash:
not a bad one. you cant be earning and not paying your tax in nigeria

CodeTemplarr:
When it comes to burden and taxation Yekini is world class, but when it comes to governance, project/expense choices or interventions, yekini is something else.

They will tax your hustle then go stone a spirit in arabic desert, but ram and rice, pay imams, grant islamic amnesty, loot, and waste.

WizardOfNG:
Like the Wike and Yerima saga, things are happening showing how so many Nigerians are 'wired wrong' and are directly responsible for why Nigeria is an unworkable nation today while Nigerians, like you, blame Tinubu and leaders for everything.

Responsible people understand the need to pay their taxes and dues. No excuses and no whataboutism.

BlackViper:
https://nairametrics.com/2025/11/13/tax-nigeria-partners-with-over-100-countries-to-track-remote-workers-income-oyedele/