Babatunde Fowler, executive
chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), says the federal government is
processing court documents that will allow it sell properties of companies who
have been evading taxes.
Speaking on a Channels Television
programme on Wednesday, Fowler said the N20 billion realised from the voluntary
assets and income declaration scheme (VAIDS) was paid by 262 people.
“We have identified properties
worth N2 trillion that belong to corporate organisations that have never filed
any tax and now we are in the process of getting a court order to start selling
those properties if the owners do not come and pay the taxes,” the former
executive chairman of Lagos Inland Revenue Service said.
“And this is a programme we going
to roll over across the whole country and we’ve concluded in Kaduna and in
Lagos, and we are going to other states.
“On the federal level, people
have declared and paid N20 billion; and one thing I will let you know is that
based on the experiences of other countries, usually, people wait till the last
minute.
“In terms of applications
received at the federal level, about 262 applications. So far paid is N20
billion and people are still in the process of putting together their facts and
in the next two or three weeks, the figures will be different.”
VAIDS offers a grace period of
nine months from July 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, for defaulters to voluntarily
pay their taxes.
The government promises to waive
penalties that should have been levied and the interest that should have been
paid on overdue taxes.
Those who declare their tax
obligations honestly will not be subjected to any investigation or tax audit
after the grace period.
The programme also featured the
Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, and other panelists.
Adeosun lamented the low tax
compliance in the state adding that there is no political undertone to the
VAIDS programme.
She said an efficient tax system
would ensure more revenue for the government.
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com