Stories by Omodele Adigun
The Chairmman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, has pledged the tax authority’s readiness to offer free advisory services to taxpayers who are willing to comply with the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS).
According to Fowler, who disclosed this recently at a media workshop on VAIDS in Lagos, FIRS would help prospective declarers with documentation and advice whenever the service is approached.
Explaining that taxation is more reliable source of revenue than oil, the FIRS boss urged those who have earned undeclared incomes to take advantage of the window provided by VAIDS to regularise their tax status.
Recall that the Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, recently declared that the Federal Government would aggressively go after tax evaders from next April when the grace period for VAIDS is over.
She stated that it would no longer be business as usual, and reminded everyone that tax evasion was a criminal offence punishable under the relevant laws. She advised Nigerians to quickly surrender the required information to the scheme while the window of grace lasted or face the consequences of tax evasion afterwards.
VAIDS was launched by the Federal Government in June to encourage people to voluntarily disclose their previously undisclosed assets and income for the purpose of payment of all outstanding tax liabilities.
While imploring Nigerians to key into the scheme, she said that tax payment was the link between the people and the government, adding that no government successfully meets up its obligations without a healthy tax system.
Adeosun frowned at the attitudes of some Nigerians, especially the high income earners, who make millions and billions from the country, but wouldn’t want to contribute to the development of the same country they benefit from.
She assured that the social contract would be strengthened between the people and the government through transparency and accountability. She doused the fear being nursed by some skeptics on whether the money realised by the initiative would be used judiciously or not. She charged taxpayers to maintain eagle eyes over how the government uses their money.
On how to achieve honest declaration of assets and income, the minister said that individuals and companies’ data available to the government has made the process seamless in making taxpayers’ status verifiable.
According to her, the voluntary declaration is also extended to Nigerians who made their money to acquire assets abroad. She regretted that Nigerians willingly pay taxes when they travel abroad, even from the money they make in Nigeria but look the other way when asked to do so in their country.
She promised that the government would not treat volunteers as criminals between now and March next year, saying that the people had made their money genuinely but took advantage of the porous system.