…As Institute of Taxation laud scheme as revolutionary
Oscarline Onwuemenyi
11 July 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has explained that the newly launched Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), is a credible platform put in place for defaulting Nigerian taxpayers to work out a flexible way to pay their outstanding tax liabilities.
Speaking in Abuja after the launch of VAIDS by Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, last week, the Minister said the Scheme offers a nine-month window to allow Nigerians, who may have evaded tax, whether ignorantly or deliberately in the past six years, the opportunity to do their civic duty. By paying the correct taxes, they avoid criminal prosecution at the expiration of the scheme.
She noted that whilst considerable progress had been made with taxing those in formal employment, but self-employed persons, professionals and companies are able to evade full tax payment due to the inability of the tax authorities to access and assess their true income.
According to her, “Nigeria’s tax to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio at just six per cent is one of the lowest in the world, compared to India’s of 16 per cent, Ghana’s of 15.9 per cent, and South Africa’s of 27 per cent. Most developed nations have tax to GDP ratios of between 32 per cent and 35 per cent.
“According to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the total number of taxpayers in Nigeria is just 12,649,654 as at April 2017. Of these, 96 per cent have their taxes deducted at source under PAYE and just four per cent comply with Direct Assessment.”
Accordingly, she explained that VAIDS is especially for taxes due in the last six years, to enable the taxpayers regularise their tax transactions, and obtain genuine tax clearance certificate for all the relevant years without fear of criminal prosecution for tax offences, and with the benefit of forgiveness of interest and penalties.
The Scheme embraces all Federal and State taxes such as Companies Income Tax, Personal Income Tax, Petroleum Profits Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Stamp Duties, Tertiary Education Tax, Technology Tax, Tenement Rates, and Property Taxes. It also covers all taxes for the last six years in line with the statutory periods of limitation under the relevant tax statutes.
Adeosun said: “The Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme is specifically targeted at taxpayers who have not been fully declaring their taxable income/assets; have not been paying the tax due at all; or have been underpaying or under remitting.
“They are those under a process of tax audits or investigations with the Relevant Tax Authority; or are engaged in tax disputes with the Relevant Tax Authority, but are prepared to settle the tax dispute out of court. They are also new taxpayers who are yet to register with the tax authorities; or are existing registered taxpayers who have new disclosures to make.
“It does not matter whether the relevant tax default arose from undeclared assets within or outside the country. If tax should have been paid, the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme is providing a once in a lifetime opportunity to declare the tax outstanding and resolve it definitively.”
She further disclosed that one great benefit of participating in the Scheme is that taxpayers would be free to transfer assets that they had previously held in nominee and other names into their own name.
She noted that “Many Nigerians have lost assets in the course of trying to conceal them from the authorities. Such losses typically occur in the event of death or an urgent need to liquidate assets when required documentation and proof of ownership cannot be provided.
The global focus on illicit financial flows is such that global regulations will only become tighter with time, thus this opportunity to regularise ownership of assets should be seized as proper declaration allows assets to be legally and formally held by the true owner.
“Those taking advantage of the Scheme by declaring honestly and fully will be free from prosecution and will qualify for forgiveness of penalties and interest.”
Upon expiration of the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration programme in March 2018, Government will concentrate criminal prosecution efforts on those who have evaded taxes and yet failed to take advantage of the scheme.
“Under the various relevant laws, tax evasion is a crime, which is punishable upon conviction by imprisonment of up to five years, while the tax payer is still liable to pay the tax due with interest and penalties. In most cases defaulters are subject to a penalty of 10 per cent of the tax due and interest at 21 per cent per annum. In some cases the penalty is 100 per cent of the tax due and the defaulters’ assets are liable to be forfeited.
“Those who fail to take advantage of the scheme and are later found to have under-declared their taxes or assets will be treated as wilful tax evaders, and will therefore face the full force of the law and will not be shielded by anonymity,” Adeosun stated.
Meanwhile, the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has lauded the coming of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), describing it as a tax revolution, which would change virtually all the anomalies and poor orientation to taxation in the country.
CITN said the move towards awakening the tax culture and base is in line with global initiatives to tackle the problem of illicit financial flows and tax evasion that has contributed to Nigeria’s underdevelopment.
The institute’s President/Chairman of Council, Chief Cyril Ede, said the strategy to tackle the problem effectively, which involves the signing of agreements with a number of nations to provide Automatic Exchange of Information is also commendable.
This means that Nigeria will automatically have information required to successfully pursue tax evaders across the world, with some of the tax haven countries like Bahamas, Panama, Switzerland, among others are now party to the deal.
There is also an agreement to share bank information under Common Reporting Standard (CRS), with a number of countries like Indonesia, Italy and Argentina, which have seen their tax revenues moved illegally to other nations already into similar programmes.
CITN chief, who recalled that the institute has been in the vanguard of the calls on government to declare tax amnesty, noted that the call was contained in a communique of the 18th Annual Tax Conference in May 2016.
“We are also happy to observe that all the State Internal Revenue Services and the FCT IRS under the umbrella of the Joint Tax Board had keyed into this worthy initiative and in full support; as the new scheme would contribute immensely towards boosting their much-needed internally generated revenue.
“The collaboration between the FIRS and the State Governments to tackle the problem of lack of full disclosure of assets and income, non – filing of tax returns and payment of tax, tax evasion and avoidance is laudable,” he said.
The tax chief said the institute is now awaiting procedural framework from the Ministry of Finance for purpose of assisting in the understanding of the implementation process in a manner that is consistent with extant laws.
