WATCHING THE WIFI: Nigeria’s plan to tax remote workers hits a privacy nerve
The Big Picture: Beginning January 2026, the Federal Government wants a clearer view of Nigerians earning paycheques from abroad. But the digital binoculars it plans to use are making freelancers, techies and privacy advocates sweat.
The Details: The sweeping Nigeria Tax Act and three sister laws signed in June create new powers for agencies to collect cross-border income data via the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard. “We already receive extensive information from over 100 countries,” committee chair Taiwo Oyedele told Aljazirah News. Non-filers could face presumptive assessments based on that data.
Legal pushback was immediate. Abuja lawyer Ayomide Ahmed warned the rules could breach constitutional privacy guarantees if the government fails to spell out safeguards, Aljazirah added. Remote-work forums lit up with concerns that bank-level surveillance might become the norm.
Why It Matters: Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio is stuck near 10%. Officials hope digital visibility will plug leaks, but critics argue over-reach could erode trust and drive income further underground. Expect heated consultations before the January start-date.
Around the Tax World
• Big Biz, Bigger Bills: Just ten companies, seven of them banks ,paid a hefty ₦1.93 trn in taxes during the first nine months of 2025, a 117% jump year-on-year (Tribune Online).
• FIRS vs. Atiku: The revenue service dismissed former VP Atiku Abubakar’s claim that Xpress Payments enjoys a monopoly in TSA collections, calling it “misleading” and pointing to a multi-PSSP framework that also includes Remita and Flutterwave (Punch).
• VAT Keeps the Lights On: FAAC tallied ₦1.48 trn in VAT over September,October, underscoring consumption’s role as a revenue workhorse even amid inflationary blues (Tribune Online).
• There’s an App for That: Lagos fintech Smoothwave launched Taxizi, pitching it as Nigeria’s first all-in-one tax calculator for PAYE, VAT and CIT compliance (PM Express).
By the Numbers
Tax Stat of the Day: ₦469.32 billion, the amount oil producer Seplat alone remitted in nine months, topping the corporate taxpayers’ league table (Tribune Online).
Looking Ahead
All eyes now turn to the Finance Ministry’s promised implementation guidelines for remote-worker taxation, expected before year-end and likely the battleground for Nigeria’s next privacy showdown.