By granting Pioneer Status, the Federal Government has waived $2.1 billion (N1.1 trillion) to 22 oil companies through tax holiday as at 2014.

These companies are operators in the marginal field segment of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, according to the latest report from the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

Pioneer Status is a tax holiday incentive, designed by the Federal Government and backed by the law granted to targeted industries, products and services, designated as priority areas and growth drivers of the economy.

Some have argued that these are monies lost to government and to Nigerians in general, as these could have been ploughed back into the petroleum sector, particular the downstream infrastructure including refineries, depots, jetties, pipelines network and a host of others to improve products distribution in the country.

NEITI, the revenue watchdog, also shares this view in its 2014 Oil and Gas report, which regarded the tax waivers, as a loss of revenue to the federation, which it noted, would hamper development projects in the economy.

A copy of the report obtained by The Guardian stated that granting pioneer status to oil and gas companies has greatly undermined the optimal collection of revenue due from Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT).

The agency therefore, said that pioneer status should not be granted to any company in the oil and gas sector, unless it is evidently clear that the company is actually pioneering an aspect of the industry in the country.

It therefore, called for a “Regular review of the pioneer status to discover some of the companies granted tax waivers that had outgrown pioneer status.

“A coordinating desk should be established in the Ministry of Finance for all the agencies that process tax incentives while the final approval for tax waivers should be issued by the Minister of Finance,” it stated.

Speaking recently on the benefits of pioneer status, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc’s Chief Executive, Austin Avuru, noted that the grant of pioneer status made it possible for the company to boost oil and gas production, provide employment opportunities, impact on their communities and help grow the Nigerian economy.

At the presentation of report by the Tax Justice and Governance Platform, tagged: “Pioneer Status in Oil and Gas Industry; Is It Worth It?,” discussants argued that the pioneer status given to oil and gas companies was not worth it, noting that as long as these companies are making profit, they will be adding little or nothing to the development of the nation.

The group urged the National Assembly to monitor the action of government agencies in granting tax incentive. “The FIRS should ensure that PS beneficiaries file tax returns annually with sanction imposed on defaulters. NIPC capacity in monitoring pioneer companies should be strengthened, while removing matured companies from the pioneer status list. Government should sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with marginal field operators on the establishment of guaranteed margins for the companies.”

Explaining the benefits of pioneer status to companies, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) said in a document on “Investing in Nigeria,” that the grant of Pioneer Status to an industry is aimed at enabling the industry concerned to make a reasonable level of profit within its formative years.

It noted that the profit so made is expected to be ploughed back into the business.

The Agency stated: “Pioneer status is a tax holiday granted to qualified or (eligible) industries anywhere in the Federation and five-year tax holiday in respect of industries located in economically disadvantaged local government area of the Federation. At the moment, there is a list of 71 approved industries declared pioneer industries, which can benefit from tax holiday.

“To qualify, a joint venture company or a wholly foreign-owned company must have a minimum share capital of N10 million and incurred a capital expenditure of not less than N5million, whilst that of qualified indigenous company should not be less than N150,000.00. In addition, an application in respect of Pioneer Status must be submitted within one year the applicant’s company starts commercial production otherwise the application will be time-barred.”

http://guardian.ng/business-services/neiti-condemns-n1-1trillion-tax-waivers-to-oil-firms/

Soon op the wailers will come to hunt and haunt you.


Haba how can GEJ be called Clueless? You don't become clueless while dashing money in trillions Na. The man should grow white beards and start putting on Red so he can assume his real Form. Which is Santa clause. Cos he was very good at giving out the National money like Xmas gift

Nairaland beach party pictures..

The moment i saw the headline, i knew it was going to under the era of the Drunken Fisherman and our one and only Ngozi Karl Marx Iweala.

This recession has been a long time coming indeed.

God punish those two wherever they are.

Corrinthians:
The moment i saw the headline, i knew it was going to under the era of the Drunken Fiaherman and our one and only Ngozi Karl Marx Iweala.

This recession has been a long time coming indeed.

God punish those two wherever they are.

I can bet my a$$ you have no idea of what the article is all about zombie

Don't forget these oil companies are owned by dem dem in power

can you imagine ?? trillions of Naira ?

folks bombing the Niger Delta won't see how the government gave up money that could have been used in benefitting their region in oiling the hands of these already rich oil companies.

so in. essence, they came mounted their rigs mined our oil, sell it anyway they liked, keeping back all the proceeds ? 1trillion naira ??







There are 60 seconds in a minute so you would count #60 in one minute.
There are 60 minutes in an hour so you would count 60x60 = #3600 in one hour.
There are 24 hours in a day so you would count 24X60x60 = $8,6400 in one day.
There are 365 days in a year so you would count 24X60x60x365 = #31,536,000 in one year.
To find how long it would take to count to a trillion naira divide 1 trillion by 31,536,000. That is 1,000,000,000,000/31,536,000 = 31,709.79 years.

that is the money they dashed out to people that were already stinkingly rich, talk of oil companies.

while I was still in Primary School my dad with his colleagues were the ish, the thing is my dad was too generous, each time he goes to the bar, he buys for everyone there, any tom dick and harry that came to beg got more than what they bargained, during Christmas, He would buy Crayfish and imported chicken and send to everyone in the village.

Today, my dads business associates have built their houses, bought their cars, some owned their filling stations....but I am home, because there's no money for Law school...
but everyone thinks my dad is a Goodman...but the truth is, he shared all the wealth of me and my siblings outside, and today we can hardly go to skol.


my family story is the story of Nigeria, just that though we eat at home, Folks can't eat across Nigeria because of the Careless, spendings of govt past....

Nawao...

Seriously, when I see news such as this, I see no reason we need external borrowing. $2.1b is a whole lot of money to revamp our refineries as well as a major portion of the power sector.

Pioneer Status = give waivers to big "oyelangas" companies in our cabal and frustrate others not in line

Chaui

people are busy commenting on 'Buhari 2019 is coming'

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Hope dis govt no go kill dis country....cos dis coy are paying huge taxes already na Wao...

Had Jonathan won that election, Achebe's prophecy of "there was a country" would have been fulfilled.

acenazt:
Soon op the wailers will come to hunt and haunt you.


Haba how can GEJ be called Clueless? You don't become clueless while dashing money in trillions Na. The man should grow white beards and start putting on Red so he can assume his real Form. Which is Santa clause. Cos he was very good at giving out the National money like Xmas gift

I DON DIE WITH LAUGH

buhari should go and borrow sense....

Corrinthians:
The moment i saw the headline, i knew it was going to under the era of the Drunken Fiaherman and our one and only Ngozi Karl Marx Iweala.

This recession has been a long time coming indeed.

God punish those two wherever they are.

Amen

meaning the 1trillion is a projection of if the waiver was not there or Monitored properly and not that the money was shared or what?..
explainment needed pls

korel9:



I can bet my a$$ you have no idea of what the article is all about zombie

Pained jonathan zombie.

quiverfull:
Had Jonathan won that election, Achebe's prophecy of "there was a country" would have been fulfilled.

the lines of rice under buhari has already fulfilled it

lest i forget the first time i have heard that half a million dollars was spent on cutting grass was still under this current dollard

Who owns the marginal fields in Nigeria?
This tax exemption is probably for Nigeria's oil men.
They make policies to favour them alone.

Hmm!!!!! Wow!!!! The whole world should come and do business in Nigeria... Because they do not really know what to do with tax money....If they can give oil sectors a holiday period from paying tax @ this stage the nation are ...., tell me a father Christmas that is bigger than that... I am guessing that all their road network, their Communication industry, Health sectors were all world class

Anything in 2014 to May 28, 2015 is possible
The dullard was in power, together with the overrated frig eyed finance minister...a synergy of incompetence and immerse corruption.

The truth is, the minute of these taxes, not paid, were remmited to the thieving officials

Jonathan was bad, Thief Obasanjo was even worse. The criminal gave away our oil rich territory with out requesting anything in return; without even seeking a referendum.

acenazt:
Soon op the wailers will come to hunt and haunt you.


Haba how can GEJ be called Clueless? You don't become clueless while dashing money in trillions Na. The man should grow white beards and start putting on Red so he can assume his real Form. Which is Santa clause. Cos he was very good at giving out the National money like Xmas gift

What clue has St. Buhari made in reversing the policy? Both are clueless jare

Cekpo34:




What clue has St. Buhari made in reversing the policy? Both are clueless jare

if u checked well I didn't refer to ur lord the hero of drunks as clueless