$15 billion tax evaded by companies can build new classrooms in over 70,000 public schools, equip 30,000 PHCs

THE Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Babatunde Fowler had said on Wednesday, October 23 at the West Africa Tax Administration Forum in Abuja that the country loses about $15 billion, an equivalent of about N4.57 trillion at N305 to $1, annually to tax evasion.

A query by The ICIR has shown that this amount of money can help construct two blocks of three classrooms in over 70,000 primary and secondary schools in Nigeria, renovate and equip 30,000 primary health centres and still get the 21 federal teaching hospitals a radiotherapy machine each.

Fowler made the disclosure at the forum organised to chart ways of combatting offshore tax evasion through the exchange of information regime. He said a huge amount of money is being kept offshore and is un-taxed.

Fowler noted that the challenges offered a global response to the issues of international tax avoidance, tax evasion, illicit financial flows, money laundering and other harmful tax practices based on cooperation and the use of advanced technologies to tackle the issues.

He said when the technology is out in plain terms, revenue available from it will be spent on public service and investments in human capital.

What N4.57 trillion can get Nigeria

The N4.57 trillion worth of evaded tax has a huge potential of projecting socio-economic prospects for the country, thereby improving the human capital index of the country.

Going by the 2020 proposed budget estimates, for instance, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) budgeted the sum of N50 million for the construction of two blocks of three classrooms in Jos, Plateau North Senatorial District.

A Basic Education Profile of National & Regional Statistics from the UBEC reveals that there are 73,179 number of schools: primary (61,305) and junior secondary(11,874) in Nigeria. Enrolment data also from the UBEC states that there about 24 million students at the primary level and 4.2 million at the junior secondary level.

With the spate of dilapidated and uncompleted classrooms in public schools littered across the country, the government can spend N3.6 trillion to build two blocks of three classrooms each at the rate of N50 million each fo the entire 73,179 public schools in the country.

Another important determinant of human capital development is the health of a nation. The ICIR in 2017 under its Open Contracting Reporting (OCR) project carried out a nationwide investigation that exposed the rotten state of primary healthcare centres (PHCs) across the country. Over the years, billions of naira have been committed to construction and equipping PHCs and ensuring universal health coverage for the country. PHCs are the closest to people at the grassroots.

READ MORE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/15-billion-evaded-tax-can-build-new-classrooms-in-over-70000-public-schools-and-equip-30000-phcs/

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