The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has called on social media content creators with large followers to register their businesses with the commission following the Company and Allied Matters Act 2020.
This followed insinuation that the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) plans to onboard media content and influencers into its tax system.
This was made known by the Registrar General, CAC, Hussaini Magaji on Tuesday, when he was paid a courtesy visit by the Managing Director, Opay, Dauda Gotring, and his team in Abuja.
The visit from the Opay team was to ensure the regularisation of 300,000 agents and merchants with the commission.
Magaji explained that the commission had opted to include the registration process to formalize individuals into the system, aligning with President Bola Tinubu’s revitalized agenda for hope.
He emphasized that the president aims to provide 50 million youths with employment opportunities, facilitate wealth accessibility, eradicate poverty, and promote youth employment.
This will expand the tax net, encourage businesses, and create more jobs for Nigerians.
The CAC boss stated that social media and content creators are generating a lot of money without paying any form of tax to the Federal Government.
Magaji said, “Ignorance of the law is not an excuse. It is stated in the Company and Allied Matters 2020 that for any business to take place in Nigeria, whether you are doing business with your name or another name, you must surrender your business for registration.
“If you are a content creator on the internet and you have a large followership and you are gaining or making money from it, you must register and that’s the provision of the law.
“And we are all out to enforce the provision of the law with its penalties. That is why we have different classes of registration, company, business loan registration. There are various classes of registration that can accommodate any kind of business you are doing.” He added.