Nigeria’s push to overhaul its tax system entered a new and far more assertive phase this week, with the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, revealing that the country has now signed data-sharing agreements with more than 100 nations to track income earned by Nigerians at home and abroad — including remote workers, digital freelancers and online service providers.
Oyedele, speaking during a webinar hosted by the National Orientation Agency on Wednesday, said the federal government is strengthening its ability to monitor earnings across global digital platforms, foreign employers, and online marketplaces. The session, titled “Simplifying Nigeria’s Tax System,” touched on long-standing confusion about how the country intends to tax the growing number of citizens who work remotely or generate income fully online.
He made the government’s position clear that remote workers in Nigeria, whether paid by Google, a foreign contractor, or a small company in the Caribbean, are responsible for declaring their income themselves.
He explained it this way: “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.”
A New Phase of Data Gathering
Oyedele went further, confirming that Nigeria now receives automatic information on financial movements involving its citizens across multiple jurisdictions.
“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.”
He warned that individuals who fail to voluntarily disclose income may face presumptive assessments based on the data the government already possesses. His advice was that Nigerians should “do the right thing” before enforcement begins.
“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.”
Talks with Big Tech and VAT Enforcement
Oyedele also revisited Nigeria’s earlier engagements with global tech giants, explaining that around three to four years ago, the government approached these companies to resolve the uneven application of Value Added Tax. Traditional businesses were required to charge VAT on goods, while many online companies operating from overseas were not.
“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? 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.”
He said the committee avoided a combative path and instead opted for negotiation.
“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.”
Errors in the New Legislation
Oyedele acknowledged that the newly signed tax laws contain errors, including conflicting turnover thresholds. One section of the Nigerian Tax Administration Act lists a threshold of N100 million, while another part of the Nigerian Tax Act lists N50 million.
He attributed this discrepancy to mistakes during gazetting. After President Bola Tinubu signed the bills into law on June 26, 2025, the department responsible for publishing the document struggled with a process they admitted they had never handled before. Errors were introduced during editing and typesetting, including the switch from 100 million to 50 million in one of the laws.
He said the committee spent three months attempting to correct the gazette, but eventually decided to proceed 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.”
Capital Gains Tax: No Retroactive Penalties
Oyedele also addressed concerns surrounding the upcoming Capital Gains Tax reforms under the proposed Nigeria Tax Act 2025. The new CGT regime, which takes effect on January 1, 2026, includes a cost basis reset and a grandfathering clause. The committee stated that gains made before 2026 will not be taxed retroactively. Only profits earned after the reform takes effect will attract CGT.
This clarification was published in a statement explaining the new framework, aimed at easing fears among investors and asset holders who worried that past gains might suddenly become taxable.
However, the broader message from Oyedele’s webinar is that Nigeria is transitioning into a far more data-driven tax environment. With global information-exchange agreements, cooperation from big tech platforms, and a new legal framework, the government is positioning itself to close gaps that previously made digital taxation difficult to enforce.
