Uche Usim, Abuja
The stage is set for an impending showdown between the Federal Government’s tax authorities and notorious defaulters in the country, following the expiration of the March 31 deadline of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS).
The development, Sunday Sun learnt, has thrown many tax debtors into panic as they dread the government’s strict enforcement and debt recovery machinery.
Consequently, many have rushed to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in the last 72 hours to regularize their taxes before the deadline, while others have remained recalcitrant.
However, the Chairman of FIRS, the nation’s tax organ, Mr. Tunde Fowler, says N20 billion has so far been realised from 262 taxpayers who have declared their assets under VAIDS, adding that the government plans to net $1 billion from the scheme.
He has also ruled out any form of extension, stressing that from April 1, tax defaulters will be subjected to existing penalties enshrined in the nation’s laws.
Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo launched VAIDS on June 29, 2017 as a way of raking in more revenue locally from non-oil sources.
The scheme, jointly implemented by Federal and State governments, gave tax debtors a nine-month grace window (from July 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018), to regularise their tax status without penalties or interest of any sort.
Under VAIDS, the Federal Government is targeting to bring a total of four million new taxpayers into the tax net.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said the government has since launched the “Project Light House”, which entails using advanced data mining and analytics techniques to identify tax defaulters, establish their tax liabilities and send notifications.
“The system-wide computer software, which drives the Project Light House, aggregates data from multiple sources such as bank accounts, land registry records, company registration data, tax filings, customs records and asset ownership records, among others, to identify, profile and track tax evaders.”
She added that the Federal Government has engaged a leading international asset tracing and investigation agency, Kroll, to trace and track illicit flows and assets.
In addition, she said Nigeria had signed the Multilateral Competent Authority on Common Reporting Standards, which allows for exchange of financial account information.
The country, according to her, is expected to effect the first exchange by 2019 as soon as the domestic legal framework is completed.
She added that “Nigeria has adopted the Common Reporting Standards and the Addis Tax Initiative aimed at improving the fairness, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of the tax system.
“Furthermore, as part of open government partnership, Nigeria has included in the national action plan a commitment to establish a public register of beneficial owners.
“To this end, the Corporate Affairs Commission, the custodian of Nigeria’s company registry, is pursuing relevant amendments to the Companies and Allied Matters Act to comply with global standards.”
To tackle illicit financial flows, the Minister has called for the tightening of Nigeria’s tax codes and laws that encourage tax avoidance, as well as strengthening of the tax system to make it more efficient.