The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is calling on social media content creators, Instagram, and TikTok users with large followings to register their businesses in line with the Company and Allied Matters Act 2020. This move comes amidst reports of the Federal Inland Revenue Services planning to bring media content and influencers into the tax system.
During a courtesy visit by the Managing Director of Opay, Dauda Gotring, and his team in Abuja, the Registrar General of CAC, Hussaini Magaji, emphasized the need for registration. The purpose of the visit was to ensure the regularization of 300,000 agents and merchants with the commission, aiming to expand the tax base, promote businesses, and create more jobs in Nigeria.
Magaji highlighted that social media content creators are generating substantial revenue without contributing taxes to the government. He emphasized that according to the Company and Allied Matters Act 2020, any business operating in Nigeria must undergo registration, including content creators making money from their large online followings.
The CAC intends to enforce compliance, including checks to ensure these businesses commence tax payments. Magaji also revealed the commission’s plan to register an additional 300,000 business names from Opay, as part of a larger target to register 20 million businesses in 2024 and create 50 million jobs for Nigerian youths.
In response, the Opay MD reaffirmed their commitment to partner with CAC to facilitate the registration of these businesses, emphasizing the importance of all operating businesses, regardless of size, to be registered.
The collaboration between CAC and Opay aims to bring banking services to unbanked individuals while ensuring compliance with business registration. Opay is rallying to educate and register business owners with CAC as they handle the accounts of these businesses.
The initiative underscores the government’s effort to formalize the economy and enforce tax compliance across various sectors, ultimately contributing to the nation’s development.
