Uche Usim, Abuja

Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has advised prominent Nigerians who are yet to regularize their tax to hurriedly do so before the March 31 deadline, as there is no more hiding place for defaulters.  

She gave the warning while receiving the report on the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee (NTPIC) in Abuja at the weekend, adding that several nations had submitted documents to the Federal Government revealing the assets Nigerian nationals stashed in their domains..

“We’ve started receiving volumes of data from a number of countries. They’ve sent us Nigerians’ bank accounts, their property and other useful information. So, right now, we have loads of dossier on Nigerians with assets overseas from proceeds of businesses done in Nigeria and yet did not pay the right taxes” Adeosun said.

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While commending the committee for a job well done, she assured that the report would soon be submitted to the Federal Executive Council for onward transmission to the National Assembly for approval. “We will take this report to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and then finally to the National Assembly for passage, so it becomes law, Adeosun added.

The Vice Chairman of National Tax Policy Implementation Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, submitted that the report contained five bills and two executive orders formulated to drive effective implementation of the new tax policy. His words: “Key objective is to drive effective implementation of new tax policy. Members of the committee are from Customs, Joint Tax Board, corporate bodies, etc. The committee’s recommendations will help grow the economy, simplify tax payment and all that.”

The Committee, he explained, identified seven major tax areas that would have the highest impact. These include: Company Income Tax (CIT), Value Added Tax (VAT), Customs & Excise Tariff (CET), Personal Income Tax (PIT), Pension Contributions, Industrial Development Income Tax Relief (IDITR); and Tertiary Education Trust Fund.