Nigeria has signed agreements with more than 100 countries to track income earned by remote workers and online professionals, in a move aimed at strengthening tax compliance, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has revealed.
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 earning from international companies.
“Whether you earn your income from Google, or XYZ Limited in the Bahamas, every remote worker in Nigeria is required to declare their earnings. Failure to do so will trigger intelligence-gathering mechanisms once the money hits your bank account,” Oyedele said.
Tracking Overseas Assets
The government already monitors transactions flowing into Nigeria and has leveraged the Common Reporting Standards (CRS) framework to receive data from partner countries on Nigerians with money or properties abroad.
“We see this money coming to your Dollar Bank account. If you put funds abroad, we have agreements with over 100 countries — from Dubai to the US, Canada, and the UK — to provide us with information on assets held by Nigerians overseas,” Oyedele said.
He urged compliance, warning that the government will act against defaulters. “The primary obligation is to do the right thing yourself. If you fail, the government will issue a presumptive assessment, and you will be required to account for it,” he added.
Oyedele highlighted how Nigeria engaged with major technology companies three to four years ago to address discrepancies in Value Added Tax (VAT) obligations between traditional businesses and online platforms.
“If a brick-and-mortar shop sells a phone and charges VAT, why should an online seller avoid it? We engaged these companies, addressed their concerns, and reached agreements. Today, Nigeria is collecting billions of naira from digital platforms without confrontation,” he noted.
Acknowledging inconsistencies in the recently signed tax legislation, Oyedele explained the differing turnover thresholds in the Nigerian Tax Administration Act and the Nigerian Tax Act, which list N100 million and N50 million, respectively.
“This discrepancy arose during gazetting after President Bola Tinubu signed the bills into law on June 26, 2025. Despite spending three months attempting corrections, we have decided to proceed while preparing amendments for next year. The minimum threshold for exemption will be N100 million,” he said.
Oyedele also clarified that Nigeria’s new Capital Gains Tax (CGT) framework will not retroactively tax investment gains earned before 2026. A cost-basis reset and grandfathering clause will ensure that only new profits made after the reform takes effect on January 1, 2026, are subject to the tax.
“The intention is to preserve old gains while applying the tax fairly to new earnings. Let’s move forward so our good becomes better, rather than waiting for it to be perfect,” Oyedele concluded.
