The Court of Appeal (COA) in its judgement delivered today Monday, 24 June 2019 upheld the decision of the Federal High Court (FHC) in Vodacom Business Nigeria Limited (“Vodacom”) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on the applicability of value added tax (VAT) to satellite-network bandwidth capacities provided to Vodacom outside Nigeria by New Skies Satellites, a Netherlands-based non-resident company.
The FHC’s judgement which adopted the “destination principle” for imported services to determine what was liable to VAT in Nigeria, was a significant departure from conventional practice where VAT was based on the “origin principle”. The destination principle holds that VAT is applicable in the territory where goods and services are consumed while under the origin principle, VAT is applicable in the territory where they are produced. The implication of the COA judgement is that Nigerian companies carrying on business with other companies outside Nigeria would be required to self-account for VAT on their transactions notwithstanding that the services were provided outside Nigeria, and regardless of whether the service providers charged VAT in their invoices.

Source: Proshare

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A total of 42 tax-related disputes worth N288.1bn have been resolved by the Tax Appeal Tribunal within a period of eight months. The Coordinating Secretary of TAT, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, gave the figure in Abuja at the opening session of a two-day retreat on effective and efficient tax dispute resolution in Nigeria.
Apart from the N288.1bn, he said disputes worth $5.41bn had also been resolved by the Tribunal. The Tribunal is one of the windows provided in Nigeria’s tax administration system, which offers an aggrieved party the opportunity to explore other dispute resolution mechanisms before gaining access to the law courts. Among other things, it helps to reduce the caseload of the over-laden regular courts by providing less formal fora for quicker, cheaper and expert resolution of tax disputes in the public interest. The Tax Appeal Tribunal was established pursuant to Section 59 (I) and the Fifth Schedule of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2007. Giving a summary of its activities from inauguration in November last year till date, Abubakar said the tribunal inherited 215 pending appeals with a disputed tax value of N607.53bn, $13.52bn and €1.48m. He said new appeals filed between November 2018 and June this year stood at 62 with disputed tax value of N71.7bn and $19.5m. He said, “Appeals resolved mutually or through judgement are 42 with a disputed tax value of N288.1bn, $5.41bn. However, it is pertinent to note that some of the resolved cases are at various stages of settlement or recovery while some might probably go on appeal at the Federal High Court. “Appeals struck out for other reasons such as lack of diligent prosecution or discontinuance by parties are 66 with disputed tax value of N22.03bn and $1.06bn. “Total number of appeals pending at the various zones and at various stages of hearing and determination are 165 with disputed tax value of N309.8bn, $10.21bn, €1.407m.” Out of the pending cases, he said 31 were either reserved for judgement or awaiting the filing of terms of the settlement. “We are hopeful that the 31 appeals would be concluded this month,” the TAT coordinating secretary explained. With regards to its key achievements, Abubakar said the TAT had engendered smooth commencement and sustained sittings across the zones. He added that there had been improved public enlightenment and stakeholder engagement, which had resulted in the gradual acceptance of the Tribunal by taxpayers. “We will keep working on improving the infrastructure to support speedy resolution of disputes brought before the Tribunal” he added. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, said the Federal Government, through the Tribunal, had been able to restore taxpayers’ confidence in the nation’s tax system. He called on the tax commissioners to put in more efforts in the area of speedy resolution of tax-related disputes in order to ensure that tax revenue due to the government were paid on time. Represented at the event by the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties in the ministry, Mohammed Dikwa, he urged participants to use the workshop to identify the enablers that would assist in reforming the TAT for effective and efficient tax dispute resolution in Nigeria.

Source: Investor King

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The Federal Government has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System, the National Identity Management Commission to cooperate with the Joint Tax Board in the release of relevant individual records. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo stated this while inaugurating the new National Tax Identification Number Registration System on Monday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that new tax administration was built around data, adding that without credible and comprehensive data, an efficient tax system would be impossible. Osinbajo said that TIN gave the managers of the national tax administration systems the capacity to conveniently and efficiently access and connect information from multiple sources. He said, “(What) we seek to achieve is really to attract business and more importantly, local business; and it is local business investment that develops the economy the most. “If it is easy for the local person to do business, it becomes more attractive to the international business to come into the country. “All of these reforms attract the levels of investment and inflows the Nigerian economy requires for sustainable economic growth. “In the light of the foregoing, all agencies critical to the optimal success of this initiative, the CBN and NIBBS, National Identity Management Commission are hereby directed by the President to provide the fullest co-operation to the JTB especially in the release of the relevant individual records. “The JTB, led by its chairman, Mr Babatunde Fowler, all the partners and stakeholders who have made this possible, deserve our commendation for this giant leap. “The Nigerian business and economic environment are the better for your hard work and continuous innovation,” Osinbajo said.

Source: Investor King

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The Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday described the current situation in Nigeria as precarious, saying Nigerians were in distress. The party’s National Chairman, Uche Secondus, stated this in his speech at the PDP 86th National Executive Committee meeting held in Abuja. He claimed that Nigerians had been degraded and were no longer proud of their country. He noted that rather than abating, the nation’s security situation was getting worse daily. According to him, the hopelessness in the security situation is underlined in the statement of the military hierarchy early in the week that the morale of soldiers were low while Boko Haram incursions had continued. Secondus said, “The killing of soldiers and civilians by Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East and the bandits in the North-West has continued unabated. “Few weeks ago, angry youths in Katsina, the home state of the President, had to dump the bodies of 18 persons killed by bandits in the Government House for the government to bury and feel the pain of burying. “How else can a people whose government cannot provide basic things like security demonstrate their anger and frustrations? “The truth remains that under the watch of President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, Nigeria and her citizens have been degraded and people are no longer proud of their country.“ The PDP chairman also alleged that the election of the National Assembly leaders was characterised by corruption. He added, “While the executive is having their wish in the 9th Assembly, the PDP, as the main opposition party, is uncomfortable that the level of corruption that preceded the emergence of the NASS leadership is capable of undermining the desired robust legislative activities. “Having ‘purchased’ the leadership of the parliament, we expect the cabals to now fully take over and dictate the show at the legislature. We have even seen the first sign of what is to come when the APC group in the Senate killed a motion to debate the June 12 speech of the President. “Only a conquered parliament with credibility challenge can shy away from discussing a major address of a President just sworn into office, but that is a sign of what is to come when choosing legislative leadership is heavily monetised by a regime that claims to be fighting corruption.” Secondus expressed the disappointment of the PDP over what he called the embarrassing roles of some of its members at the National Assembly during the election of their leaders. He said party loyalty demanded that members should stick to the party at any given situation. The party chairman also warned the present administration against blackmail former President Olusegun Obasanjo and a former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma. Secondus also faulted Buhari’s June 12 speech, saying that it failed to advance any pragmatic solution to the myriads of problems facing the country. He said the reports of the international observers on the 2019 general election vindicated the PDP’s position that the elections were rigged in favour of the APC. He said, “I cannot finish this address without drawing your attention to the report just released last week by some international bodies that observed our last general elections. “In particular, the European Union Election Observation Mission, the America-based National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute. “The reports of the three highly respected international bodies confirmed the feeling of Nigerians that the election that produced President Muhammadu Buhari was marred by irregularities and therefore fell below credibility standard.” The chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jubril, said the party would soon return to power. He said the BOT was confident in the ability of the judiciary to dispense justice at the election tribunal.

Source: Punch

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A row has broken out in Tanzania over the government’s decision to impose a tax on wigs and hair extensions. Many male and some female MPs applauded and thumped their desks in approval when Finance Minister Philip Mpango announced the tax in parliament.
Supporters of the levy say it will help women keep their hair natural. But there has also been public outrage, with women saying they are being punished for wanting to look good in wigs and hair extensions. Tanzanians tend to uphold traditional values, but society is changing and many women now wear wigs and extensions, the BBC’s Aboubakar Famau reports from the capital, Dodoma. In his budget speech in parliament on Thursday, Mr. Mpango announced a 25% tax on imported wigs and hair extensions and a 10% tax on those made locally as part of a series of measures aimed at increasing government revenue. The cheapest wigs currently costs around $4 (£3.40), but they can sell for up to $130. Mr. Mpango also scrapped the exemption on value-added tax placed on sanitary towels, saying consumers had not benefited as businesses did not reduce prices when it was introduced

Source: Hubnaija

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The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) has issued a public notice (the Notice) on its intention to integrate the LASG-EBS Taxpayer Identification Digit (PID) module into the National Tax Identification Number (TIN) system with the Joint Tax Board (JTB). The TIN module is biometrics-based, with the aim of ensuring identity uniqueness for taxpayers.
The proposed integration is set to achieve the following objectives: Facilitate smooth sharing of taxpayers' data for JTB, State Board Internal Revenue Services (SBIRS's) and other stakeholders
Remove the incidence of multi payer ID
Simplify the taxpayers' registration process
Provide a unified taxpayer database
Ease the tax payment process
The Notice states that going forward, access to LASG-EBS platform for all transactions including but not limited to registration and creation of payer ID for new taxpayers, payment of taxes and validation of taxpayers' profile shall compulsorily require taxpayers' Bank Verification Number (BVN). The BVN provides LIRS the fastest and least disruptive route to achieving the planned integration with the JTB-TIN system. Based on the above, all self-employed individuals are required to provide their BVNs to LIRS in order to assist in the creation of their unique PID. Corporate organisations are also required to ensure that their employees who qualify for tax clearance certificate include their BVN in their individual e-TCC forms. The integration is expected to provide LIRS with a more reliable taxpayers' database which will improve planning, reduce tax evasion and invariably increase tax revenue. In an attempt to address the potential reluctance of taxpayers to share personal and confidential information, LIRS has assured taxpayers of the safety and security of all data/information in its custody. Please click here for a copy of the public notice. We will continue to monitor developments on this issue and share further updates with you as they become available.

Source: Punch

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The unavailability of documents from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has stalled the forgery trial of John Abebe, the younger brother of former first lady, late Mrs Stella Obasanjo on Friday in an Ikeja Special Offences Court. Abebe is alleged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to have on June 22, 2010 knowingly forged portions of a letter belonging to BP Exploration Nigeria Ltd dated Nov. 30,1995. Mr Christopher Ikem, a staff of CAC and the second defence witness (DW2),
Informed the court that the CAC was still in the process of collating the documents necessary for Abebe’s defence. He noted that some of the documents date as far back as 1992. Mr Uche Nwokedi, SAN, the defence counsel, requested for an adjournment of the suit to enable the subpoenaed CAC official bring the necessary documents to court. Reacting, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, the lead prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, however, expressed displeasure over the defence counsel’s request for an adjournment. “My lord the learned SAN can tender the documents himself we should not use DW2 as a skyscraper of adjournments. The documents about to be tendered has no relation to the charge. “It is alleged that the defendant forged a document that was presented during proceedings at the Federal High Court. “I humbly and passionately pray my lord that proceedings should not be stalled as justice is not for the defendant alone,” Oyedepo said. Responding Nwokedi said “We issued these subpoenas to the witnesses in May and this case is under constant review and we owe it to provide the best defence. “If my learned friend can state here that he has not sought an adjournment in this case, I will let it be. We were meant to take two witnesses today but unfortunately, the second witness is not well,” Obliging Nwokedi’s request, Justice Mojisola Dada adjourned the case until July 10 and 11 for continuation of trial. In a no-case submission which relied on Section 239(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2011 Nwokedi (SAN) had urged the court to dismiss the EFCC’s case against Abebe. In the no-case submission which was dismissed by Justice Dada on March, 24 Nwokedi noted that the procurement of the allegedly forged letter by the prosecution was illegal. He said it contravenes the provisions of Sections 37 and 38 of the National Archives Act and as a result, the document (letter) was legally inadmissible to prove the charge against Abebe. He noted that the document, which was prepared by BP Exploration Nigeria Ltd and Inducon Nigeria Ltd (both Nigerian companies) were produced from a privately managed archive in London known as Iron Mountain. Abebe opened his defence on July 13 with Mrs Roseline Ovesuor, Deputy Director of the National Archives giving evidence and the first defence witness (DW1). Reiterating the claim of the defence, Ovesuor stated in her evidence that by virtue provisions of Sections 37 and 38 of the National Archives Act, it was an offence for a Nigerian company to take its records outside Nigeria. Abebe had on July 26, 2018 plead not guilty to a four-count charge of forgery, fabricating evidence, using fabricated evidence and attempt to pervert the cause of justice. According to the EFCC, the defendant committed the offence on June 22, 2010 in Lagos. “Abebe knowingly forged BP Exploration Nigeria Ltd’s letter dated Nov. 30,1995 to Inducon (Nigeria) Ltd. “He committed the forgery by inserting in page two of the said letter the following words: “Also note that the ‘Buy-Out Option’ only applies to the pre-production stage of the Net Profit Interest Agreement (NPIA). ”The four million dollars buy-out is thus irrelevant from production of oil in any of our fields. “He purported same to have been issued by BP Exploration Nigeria Limited,” Oyedepo said. The prosecution claims that the defendant used the allegedly forged letter as evidence in suit No. FHC/L/CS/224/2010 between Abebe, Inducon Nigeria Ltd and Statoil Nigeria Ltd. at the Federal High Court. The evidence was admitted and marked exhibit BB in the suit. According to the EFCC, the defendant had through his actions, attempted to pervert the course of justice. The offence, the anti graft agency said, contravened the provisions of sections 120(1), 120(2), 126(2) of the Criminal Code Law of 2003.(NAN).

Source: Vanguard

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Since 1956 when crude oil was discovered in commercial quantity in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, a flurry of economic experts have continually pitched the benefits of economic diversification to no avail. The immediate fallout of this negligence seesaws between a government perennially starved of funds for capital projects and a citizenry disillusioned by the absence of the social contract they expect from strict compliance with government policies.
At present, the federal government is reportedly grappling with a budget deficit of N3.8 billion and debt profile of N2.7 billion in a country that boasts 57 million economically active citizens, among whom only 15,000 are tax compliant. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reinforced this argument in 2016 when it estimated revenue collected across all tiers of government at 6 percent of GDP (70% from the oil sector) and 30 percent from the non-oil sector (30% of GDP). Small wonder the government has shifted its focus to alternative strategies for revenue generation from the non-oil sector in its 2020 inclusive economic agenda. The Better Tax campaign launched by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) in Lagos recently is one such revenue generation initiative. With the benefit of hindsight, the average Nigerian may be understandably sceptical of tax reform. After all, several initiatives launched previously were long on execution but drastically short on sustenance and impact. In 2017, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration sought to include more Nigerians in the tax net with the launch of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS). To facilitate the process, government set up tax clinics to offer free service, consultation and legal representation for defaulting companies wishing to voluntarily file their tax returns. However, analysts argue that the euphoria over N30 billion sourced from the initiative was short-lived because compliance was primarily incentive-based and did not outlast the 11-month lifespan of the project. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has also done its bit by introducing several digital payment platforms such as e-Registration, e-Filing, e-Tax Clearance Certificates and e-Stamp Duty, among others. But it is instructive that of the 4,926,053 taxpayers in the FIRS database, only 13,131 are registered for e-Filing and of that number, only a paltry 3,064 actually use the service. This development calls for a more wide-ranging system that will not only sustain tax compliance but also close knowledge gaps. At the launch of Better Tax recently, the Chairperson of the NESG Fiscal Policy Roundtable Dr. Sarah Alade argued that contrary to general perception, Nigerians are not necessarily averse to paying taxes. In fact, the NESG Citizen Perception Report, which is the product of a tax survey cutting across households and small businesses in the revenue value chain, found that about 70 percent of respondents had no reservations about paying taxes. Rather, they would prefer that the process is sustained by proper education and transparency on the allocation and application of resources by the government. Tax officials, on their part, are constrained by inconsistent tax policies, limited resources, unrealistic targets and inability to influence service delivery from tax proceeds.

Source: Pro Share

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Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha has fired the chief executives of all statutory boards and parastatals in the state. Also sent packing were all heads of commissions, corporations and agencies as well as political appointees. The development came less than 24 hours after Ihedioha suspended the chairmen of the 27 councils along with their deputies and councillors. A statement on Tuesday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Chibuike Onyeukwu, said, “The action is in the overriding public interest, and in order to give government an opportunity to execute the policies, programmes and agenda that brought it into power. “Consequently, the chief executives are directed to hand over the affairs of their various establishments to the most senior civil servants.” Onyeukwu said the sacking of the council bosses was in accordance with the provisions of sections 4, 5, and 6 of the Local Government Administration Law 2019 (as amended) and S.73(3) of the Imo State Local Government Administration Law No 15 of 2000 (as amended). He said the governor had appointed interim management committees for the councils. The statement also said Ihedioha had approved the removal of the chairman and members of the state Independent Electoral Commission.

Source: Punch

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The Independent National Electoral Commission said it lacked the constitutional power to deregister any of the existing 91 political parties in the country. The INEC Federal Commissioner in charge of Nasarawa, Kogi and Kwara States, Malam Muhammed Haruna, made this known on Monday in Lokoja while declaring open a post-election review meeting on the last general elections. Haruna said that the clamour by Nigerians for a reduction in the number of registered parties could only be done through an amendment of the Constitution. He agreed that the provisions in the 1999 Constitution that state that parties must be national in outlook and have headquarters in Abuja had led to unexpected problems but explained that INEC was helpless. The Commissioner advocated a consensus among stakeholders to resolve the issue, explaining that constitutional amendment was the only way out. Haruna identified logistics as the major challenge the INEC encountered in the process of conducting the last general elections, saying that steps would be taken to prevent a re-occurrence.

Source: Punch

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Some workers of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), have called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to reappoint the Executive Chairman of the service, Mr Babatinde Fowler, for another term of office. The workers, under the aegis of Concerned Staff of FIRS, made this known in a letter to the President, a copy of which our correspondent got on Sunday.
In the letter, the workers accused Fowler of being economical with the truth in some of the reports being doled out detailing the activities and achievements of the service. Also, they accused Fowler of setting the service in the reverse gear instead of positioning it for greater height like his predecessors. They alleged that prior to August 2015 when Fowler assumed office, the modernization efforts towards organizational process and structural reforms of FIRS with a view to enhancing effective and efficient tax administration had produced significant verifiable outcomes in many areas. They listed the areas to include developing a tax reform agenda, enactment/amendment of tax laws, National Tax Policy, articulating a clear direction for the Service and the JTB among others. Their grouse against Fowler included recruiting workers in manners shrouded in secrecy and not in conformity with laid down rules. According to them, Fowler’s claim of improved performance was fraught with irregularities. “With fixing of the fundamentals by building a foundational base that would readily enhance tax revenue collections through the implementation of the tax reform, we experienced a steady increase in tax revenues for the government except for the immaterial decrease in tax revenues which of course were attributed to 2007-2009 global credit crunch/financial meltdown, the performance before Mr. Fowler was growing year-on-year. “Contrary to Mr Fowler’s claim that “N5,320 trillion is the highest revenue ever generated by FIRS in history” is misleading and economical with the facts because:
“(1). In 2012 the set revenue target was N3,635.5 trillion while N5,007.7 trillion was generated, with 137.74% of collection. But the set revenue target in 2018 is N6,747.0 trillion and actual revenue generated stood at N5,320.0 trillion with 78.85%.
“(2). The amount of N5,007.7 trillion in Dollars in 2012 was $32,150 billion while the amount of N5,320.0 trillion in 2018 stood at $17,385.62 billion. This means FIRS under his watch did not meet the set target, its performance was also poor in Dollar terms in 2018. Below is the tax revenue collection performance from 2000-2018 for further clarification. “Our collection should continue to grow year-by-year as shown above and not decreasing as highlighted in red which represents FIRS performance under his watch as Executive Chairman. These clarifications are necessary to dispel the huge media propaganda stupendously sponsored with taxpayers’ money in many conventional (electronic and print) platforms all over the country to boost his personal ego”. “The open secret remains that FIRS has under-performed under his leadership and this could be attributed to its executive incompetence and arrogance in handling tax administration matters”. “It must also be emphasized that in 2010 when the general and transparent recruitment exercise was concluded, the ripple effect of the exercise and other initiatives embarked upon produced huge tax revenues as can be seen from the table above for 2010, 2011 and in 2012 when the tax revenues got to all-time high of N5.01trillion at an exchange rate of N155.76. So, it is no longer news that N5trillion revenue target is achievable provided a competent person is appointed as the Executive Chairman of FIRS. “Dear Mr. President, there are so many disturbing atrocities perpetrated by Mr. Fowler in FIRS which your attention must have been drawn to but we wish to also draw it to you again, sir. There are convincing evidences already presented to you for further action and others that may be presented to you for further investigations and for his possible prosecution. We strongly advise that these atrocities be made known to the VICE PRESIDENT because it is his name that is being used a shield against investigation and prosecution for abusing his office. “It must be emphasized that Mr. Fowler’s era in FIRS has unimaginably taken it back to the old dark period of inefficient and ineffective days.

Source: GCFR

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The federal government’s non-oil revenue increased by 28.7 per cent to N322.93 billion in April, higher than the N251.01 billion recorded the previous month. But at N322.93 billion or 40.6 per cent of total revenue, the non-oil revenue was below the provisional monthly budget estimate of N466.91 billion by 30.8 per cent.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed this in its monthly economic report for April 2019, posted on its website. But it explained that the lower collection relative to the provisional monthly budget estimate was due to the shortfalls in corporate tax, VAT, Federal Government of Nigeria Independent Revenue and Education Tax. According to the report, at N795.31 billion, the estimated federally-collected revenue (gross) in April 2019, fell below the provisional monthly budget estimate of N1.107 trillion by 28.2 per cent. However, it exceeded the receipt of N767.90 billion in the preceding month by 3.6 per cent. The decrease, relative to the provisional monthly budget estimate, was attributed to a shortfall in both oil and non-oil revenue. Also, oil receipts, at N472.38 billion or 59.4 per cent of total revenue, was below both the provisional monthly budget estimate and the preceding month’s receipt of N516.88 by 26.2 per cent and 8.6 per cent, respectively. The fall in oil revenue relative to the provisional monthly budget estimate was attributed to the shut-ins and short-downs at some NNPC terminals due to technical issues, leakages and maintenance. “Of the total N616.21 billion retained revenue in the Federation Account, the sums of N88.49 billion, N67.82 billion and N24.72 billion were transferred to the VAT Pool Account, the federal government independent revenue and ‘Others’ respectively, leaving a balance of N435.18 billion for distribution to the three tiers of government,” the report said. Of this amount, the federal government received N208.39 billion, while the state and local governments got N105.70 billion and N81.49 billion, respectively. The balance of N39.59 billion was shared among the oil producing states as 13 per cent Derivation Fund. Similarly, from the N88.49 billion transferred to the VAT Pool Account, the federal government received N13.27 billion, while the state and local governments received N44.25 billion and N30.97 billion, respectively. “The external sector performance remained stable in the review month. The average price of crude oil rose from $68.11 per barrel in March 2019 to US$73.08 per barrel in April 2019 due to OPEC-led supply cuts, geopolitical tensions in Libya and Venezuela, and the US sanctions on Iran. “Notwithstanding, aggregate foreign exchange inflow into the CBN, at $5.25 billion, showed a decline of 32.4 per cent below the level in the preceding period of 2019, but contrasted with the growth of 23.8 per cent at the end of the corresponding period of 2018. The fall in aggregate foreign exchange inflow into the CBN, relative to the preceding month’s level, was attributed, largely, to the decrease in non- oil receipts. “Aggregate outflow of foreign exchange from the Bank fell by 6.7 per cent below the level at the end of the preceding month to $4.90 billion in April 2019. It, however, indicated 42.5 per cent increase over the level at the end of the corresponding period of 2018. The development, relative to end-April 2019, reflected, mainly, the 13.2 per cent decline in ‘Interbank Utilisation,” the report stated. Furthermore, the overall, foreign exchange flows through the Bank in the month of April 2019, resulted in a net inflow of $0.35 billion, compared with $2.51 billion and $0.80 billion in the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2018, respectively. According to the report, at N31.696 trillion, aggregate credit to the domestic economy, on month-on-month basis, grew by 3.9 per cent at the end of the review month, compared with the increase of 6.5 per cent and 0.7 per cent at the end of the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2018, respectively.
The development reflected, mainly, the 11.4 per cent rise in net claims on the federal government. Over the level at end- December 2018, net domestic credit grew by 15 per cent at the end of the review period, compared with the growth of 10.7 per cent and 5.3 per cent at the end of the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2018, respectively. The development was due to the increase of 59.1 per cent and 5.5 per cent in net claims on the federal government and claims on the private sector, respectively. “Net claims on the federal government, on month-on-month basis, rose by 21.8 per cent to N7,741.3 billion at end-March 2019, compared with the increase of 11.4 per cent and 7.3 per cent at the end of February 2019 and March 2018, respectively. “The development was due to the increase of 74.0 per cent in the banking systems holding of government securities in the review month. Relative to the level at end- December 2018, net claims on the federal government grew by 59.1 per cent at the end of the review period, compared with the increase of 30.6 per cent and 35.5 per cent at end of February 2019 and March 2018, respectively,” it added.

Source: This Day

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The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for the concessionary tax rate for the Small and Medium Enterprise sector of the economy. Making the call in a communiqué issued at the end of its council meeting held over the weekend, the LCCI noted that small businesses were more vulnerable to the current challenges in the economy and suffered high mortality rate as a result.
In the communiqué signed by the Director-General, LCCI, Mr Muda Yusuf, and made available to our correspondent on Sunday, the chamber also expressed concerns about the persistent delays in the issuance of the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report to importers by the Nigeria Customs Service. It said the situation contributed to cost escalation for many businesses, payment of avoidable demurrage and high interest cost on borrowed funds. “The protracted delays in the issuance of PAAR is a negation of the policy of the government on ease of doing business. The LCCI, therefore, calls on the Comptroller General of the NCS, to urgently intervene.” The investigating activities of anti-graft agencies and regulatory institutions regarding alleged infractions by corporate organisations also occupied the attention of the chamber. It admonished that such investigation, as much as possible, be conducted in a discreet manner devoid of any form of media hype. “This is necessary to avoid unwarranted reputational damage and erosion of investors’ confidence,” it said. The LCCI added, however, that, “This position does not diminish the significance of compliance by corporate organisations with extant laws and the imperative of proportional sanctions for proven cases of infringements of the law. “The LCCI is a leading advocate of sound corporate governance in the country. Meanwhile, it is also important that there should be proper coordination between regulatory institutions and anti-graft agencies in dealing with suspected regulatory infractions to avoid duplication of investigative actions.”

Source: Punch

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G20 policymakers vowed Sunday to “redouble” their bid to reform by the end of next year the international tax system to take account of internet giants such as Facebook and Google. Speaking about international taxation, the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors said in a statement seen by AFP: “We will redouble our efforts for a consensus-based solution with a final report by 2020.” However, here again, the Fukuoka meeting exposed a difference of opinion over what form this reform should take.
Frustrated by a lack of global action on the issue, some countries such as Britain and France have already introduced a so-called digital tax, but Mnuchin was blunt in his assessment of these policies. “I would say the US has significant concerns with the two current taxes that are being proposed by France and the UK but let me give them some good credit for proposing them in the sense (that) they have created an urgency to deal with this issue,” US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at a public meeting before the formal G20 started. “Although I don’t like them, I do appreciate the impetus for these issues,” added the top US finance official. Appropriately for a meeting held in Japan — which is on track to become the world’s first “super-aged” society in which more than 28 percent of the population is over 65 — the G20 ministers discussed for the first time the “challenges and opportunities” posed by ageing. They suggested getting more women and elderly people into the workforce and “promoting elderly-friendly industries”, as well as reforming the fiscal and banking systems to take into account ageing populations. “You basically have a very large portion of mankind that is ageing and then the workforce is shrinking,” OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria told AFP in an interview. Solving the issue will require wholesale changes to the way society is organised, added Gurria.

Source: Punch

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Paris Saint-Germain will start their bid for a third successive Ligue 1 title with a home match against Nimes after next season’s fixtures were announced on Friday. Thomas Tuchel’s side will begin their league campaign at the Parc des Princes on the weekend of August 10-11, with Monaco facing Lyon in the pick of the opening round of matches. PSG, who will be hoping to finally reach a maiden Champions League final next term, host bitter rivals Marseille on the weekend of October 26-27.

Source: Punch

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Real Madrid confirmed the signing of Japanese teenager Takefusa Kubo on Friday. The 18-year-old joins from FC Tokyo and will play for Madrid’s B team, Castilla, next season. “Takefusa Kubo will join Castilla next season,” a Real Madrid statement read. “He is one of the most promising young players in world football, an attacking midfielder with excellent technique and great vision for the game.” Kubo, who has been dubbed the “Japanese Messi”, made his full international debut against El Salvador earlier this month and was also linked with Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League champion Manchester City. Kubo earned his nickname after joining Barca’s youth academy aged 10 but returned to Japan in 2015 as a result of FIFA sanctions handed to the club for breaching rules on signing under-age players. Barcelona has kept tabs on Kubo ever since but Madrid stole a march on their La Liga rivals with an offer of two million euros ($2.25 million) a year, according to Japanese media. Kubo came on as a second-half substitute in Japan’s 2-0 win over El Salvador last weekend and has been included in the Blue Samurai squad for the Copa America, which begins on Friday in Brazil. He has scored four goals in 13 J-League games this year for Tokyo. Japan open their second Copa America campaign against Chile in Sao Paulo on Monday.

Source; Punch

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The president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Ahmad Ahmed, has been reportedly arrested, on Thursday, June 6, on financial and tax fraud allegations. The 59-year-old was said to have been taken into custody by the authorities at his Berri Hotel room in Paris where he is currently attending FIFA congress.
Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick will now take over as the acting president until investigations are concluded. It will be recalled that FIFA president Gianni Infantino was re-elected into office for the next four years. According to Jeune Afrique, the former Madagascan football chief will be made to appear in front of the Central Office in the fight against corruption and financial and fiscal offences (OCLIF). Meanwhile, his arrest was linked with the contract single-handedly broken by CAF with German sportswear giants Puma to engage with the company Technical Steel, based in La Seyne-sur-Mer. His arrest also comes on the back of CAF’s decision to replay the CAF Champions League final, which will be replayed after the Africa Cup of Nations. Newswatch.ng reported that in a shocking development, the second leg tie of the African Champions League final match is set to be replayed after the original fixture was abandoned and the match awarded to Tunisian side Esperance. The match had to be awarded to Esperance after Wydad Casablanca from Morocco, had left the pitch following a disputed decision during the champions league final, as the VAR system was not in operation. The Executive Committee of Confederation of African Football (CAF), meeting in Paris on the fringes of the FIFA congress, decided on Wednesday to re-stage the champions league match at a neutral ground.

Source: News Watch

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The general manager of Thailand’s women national soccer team apologized to fans on Wednesday after the record 13-0 defeat by world champions the United States in the World Cup in France. The Group F result is the largest margin of victory in both men’s and women’s World Cup football, surpassing Germany’s 11-0 win over Argentina in 2007 and almost double the Americans own the previous record of 7-0 against Taiwan in 1991. Thailand were trailing by three goals at halftime before the U.S. netted ten goals in the second half, four of which came in a six-minute interval shortly after the restart. “We met with one of the strongest opponents in the world but I did not think we would lose this much,” said Thailand manager Nualphan Lamsam adding that she, the coaching staff, and the players “would like to apologize to all our fans… and thanks for all their support.” “We will do our best in the next two games,” she said. The last time the two teams met, the US won 9-0. There were a lot of excitement in Thailand before the tournament having qualified for their second World Cup in succession. However, many fans were disappointed by the team’s capitulation with some calling for the sacking of head coach Nuengrutai Srathongvian. Others conceded that the defeat showed the country’s lack of development in the sport. “People were so happy when we qualified but this result shows how far we really are from the world champions,” Chonticha Asavanich, a former sports news anchor and national athlete told Reuters. “The football community here has to do more to develop the sport,” she said. The lack of resources in Thai women’s soccer is highlighted by the absence of a domestic league forcing players in the national team to earn a living in other jobs while training. “It is a nightmare for us but also a page in the history book to remind ourselves that we will return,” Sasom Pobprasert, a former men’s Thai footballer told Reuters. “We have to be more serious in our football development and look at why other countries are more successful than us and adjust ourselves accordingly,” he said.

Source: Punch

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The debate over increasing property taxes continues to intensify and for some Calgary business owners, it’s a fight to keep their business alive. A new social media campaign called “Sorry, Calgary is closing” launched this week and calls for businesses to band together against skyrocketing tax increases.
Barre Belle co-founder Kristi Stuart said her property taxes have gone up 15 per cent from 2017 to 2018. She hasn’t received her assessment for 2019 but was told it would be even higher. Two of her fitness studios could be on the brink of closing. “This is the final punch that’s going to knock us out, and everybody’s really mad,” Stuart said Thursday. Stuart and other small business owners have organized a rally for Monday at 7:30 a.m. outside city hall. According to Stuart, the timing is not coincidental. “The reason we’re doing it at 7:30 is because when councillors come into work, I want them to look at the faces that these property tax increases are going to affect,” she said. “Seeing council not respect our city like the way we’re respecting our businesses is irresponsible… In a couple of months, you could go to your favourite shop and it may not be there. We’re trying to be proactive instead of reactive and say, ‘Listen, council, this is not going to fly.' She’s also behind a petition calling on the provincial government to fire all of Calgary city council, including the mayor. Premier Jason Kenney has said he will not be firing them but Stuart said enough is enough. Ward 9 Councillor Gian-Carlo Carra said council is very aware of the frustrations and its why they have planned an emergency meeting Monday to deal with the tax crisis. “There’s a lot of shock,” he said. “People are feeling gut-punched and they’re feeling freaked out… We’re proposing a final one-year fix that will hold our tax levels at 2018 levels. “The fix, however, would be a temporary one.

Source: Global News

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Workers of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission have disagreed with the management of the organization over the use of consultants to probe banks for failure to remit all they collect on behalf of the government agencies in charge of taxes and levies.
The workers had staged protests for two days last week where they drew the attention of the management and members of the public to the plight of the workers whom they alleged were being rendered redundant through the use of consultants in what should have been their sphere of influence. Following the two-day protests, the management of RMAFC opened a consultation with the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, RMAFC Chapter. Chapter President of the association, Mr Martin Adeoye, in an interview with our correspondent, said that the talk would continue as it had not yet produced the required results. Adeoye said that the association was not completely against the use of consultants by the management of RMAFC to do its work but added that a situation where the workers were completely neglected was not acceptable. He said, “If they attach two or three members of staff to a consulting firm, we would not be angry. It is by embedding members of staff among the consultants that the capacity of the workers is built. If they completely neglect us, why are we here?” Adeoye said that the organization had almost 1,000 workers scattered in different parts of the country, adding that if they were adequately trained and deployed, consultants would not always be needed for the verification exercises that were carried on by the agency from time to time. He disclosed that the association would continue the talks with the board of RMAFC which he said would soon be inaugurated following the screening of the members by the National Assembly. The various probes instituted by RMAFC into tax remittances by banks, withholding taxes and Value Added Tax, had to the recovery of N268bn into the federation account. According to the agency, the recent verification and reconciliation of collections by banks had led to the recovery of over N73bn recently.

Source: Punch 

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An Igbosere High Court, Lagos State, on Thursday fixed October 10 for the trial of a Nollywood actress, Monalisa Chinda-Coker, over alleged tax evasion.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that trial was earlier fixed for June 5, but could not hold due to the Eid-el-Fitr holiday. At the resumed hearing on Thursday, the court fixed October 10 as the new date for trial. Chinda-Coker is facing two charges of failure to file annual tax returns and failure to pay income tax in respect of her company, Monalisa Code Productions. The alleged offences contravened Section 94(1) of the Personal Income Tax Act 2004 (as amended) and Section 56 of the Lagos State Revenue Administrative Law of 2006.

Source: Punch

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The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has faulted the renewed tax drive in the Nigerian economy, saying that it was focused more on investors than consumers. The chamber stated this in a document setting economic diversification agenda for the Federal Government on Sunday. In the document signed by the Director General, LCCI, Mr MudaYusuf, the chamber stated, “The Federal Inland Revenue Service has scant regard for due process in its drive for revenue. It is, therefore, inherently a disincentive to investment and economic diversification.
“The three tiers of government target investors more than consumers. This is not in consonance with best practice principles in taxation.” In an economy which is almost 50 per cent informal, the taxation structure is not investment-friendly, the chamber maintained, recommending that the tax structure should be reversed to aid economic diversification. Yusuf faulted the use of banks as collection agents for the FIRS, noting that it was very disruptive, distracting, arbitrary, oppressive and unfair to investors. The LCCI insisted that such practice was a serious disincentive to investment and the promotion of financial inclusion. “This approach should be discontinued. Taxation should not be seen only as an instrument of revenue generation; it is also a potent instrument for stimulation of investment,” he said. The chamber stressed that for there to be a sustainable economic diversification, the government needed to get the policies, institutions and infrastructure right and ensure they were properly aligned. It added that the policy mix must be right for the desired outcomes to be achieved. He advised the Central Bank of Nigeria to moderate its monetary tightening stance adding that this would moderate interest rate and also drive domestic investment. He said, “It is difficult to drive domestic investment at current levels of interest rate which is well over 25 per cent for most economic players. The economy needs investment, especially domestic direct investment to drive diversification.” He advised against a foreign exchange regime that ‘perpetuates a rent economy’, saying that it created opportunities for arbitrage, corruption, resource misallocation, impeded the inflow of investment, and created transparency issues in the allocation of forex. “The current multiplicity of rates is inimical to sustainable economic diversification,” he pointed out. The chamber advised that trade policies that determine exports and imports should be guided by sect oral competitive and comparative advantage. “Institutional capacity to enforce the policies should also be considered in trade policy formulation. The Nigeria Customs Service needs to demonstrate better sensitivity to the plight of investors. “One of the biggest headaches of the business community is the Nigeria Customs Service. Policies should be focused on incentivizing resource-based industries which typically have a competitive advantage and good impact on the economy because of the high multiplier effect. The relativity of tariffs between Nigeria and the neighboring countries should also be considered in the formulation of trade policy.” Yusuf advised that procurement policy should be structured to favor sectors that had the potential to be diversification champions as well as leading backward integration firms. He advised government agencies to facilitate investment growth rather than see themselves as revenue generating organs.

Source: Punch

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You know, every question on tax always start with a tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio of six per cent. For me, it is rhetoric, unfortunately. But fundamentally, if you really want to get tax level to increase, you have to grow the economy.
When the economy is not growing, you can’t expect the tax level to increase. So we need to really get back as a country and say to ourselves what is the minimum growth rate we need to drive this economy. I’ll give you an example: After Tiananmen Square in China in 1989, the Chinese government decided that so as not to have a repeat of what happened, minimum growth rate would be eight per cent. And they achieved eight to 10 per cent for about 25 years and transformed the economy. Fundamentally, because it took many people out of the low-income economy to middle-class and they had much more to pay taxes. That was one aspect. Another major aspect is the issue of trust. Taxpayers need to see what they are using their money to do. That is because if you are using the money to clear expenditure or finance elephant projects, then why shouldn’t we pay tax? In that sense, it is granted as a civic duty and everybody must pay tax. But the reality is that countries where the political leaders or those at the helms of affairs do not use tax money to grow the economy, would find that in such situation, trust will be broken. And for Nigeria, that is the first step. Lagos State government over the last 20 years has tried very hard and improved the trust situation significantly. I could remember very well in 1999, when Bola Tinubu became Governor, the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) was about a billion naira, but today, as at last count, it has gone to over N30 billion. And you see what is happening in Lagos in the last 20 years? They still have a lot of work to do, but there has been a lot of transformation around the way the city has developed over time, using mainly taxpayers’ money. So to recap, if there is no growth, you won’t see an increase in tax rate and you can’t tax businesses that are not doing well. When a company is making losses, it will make tax not work. And you can carry losses forward for a number of years, which means that if you make profit the following year, you are recouping and still will not pay full taxes. To cut it short, many countries use taxes to drive investments because low taxes means that it affects investments. And finally for me, we have to move away from the way we do our budget. This is because fiscal policy for me is about how we grow the economy; how we drag the economy to be attractive for investment and how do we use that investment to ensure that we can create more revenue sources and also to get people to pay more taxes. We have always focused on appropriation. So, every year the National Assembly prepares the budget and after a long debate, it turns into an appropriation bill. Many countries have moved away from the Appropriation Bill, into more of a Financed Bill, which reflects the fiscal policy of the government, which includes just numbers, how we are going to spend, and how we are going to drive revenue. But if you want to make amendments to the tax law, you don’t have to wait until amendments start, you can use the Finance Bill every year, then treat the tax law regularly so that you can actually have revenue sources clearly in the Finance Bill; drive revenue sources and it’s a more balanced document for everybody to understand and read because there you have the revenue side; that’s the fiscal policy, you have the spending side based on recurrent and capital expenditure. And of course, one day, the oil revenues that we have today, will not be there, so we need to prepare for the long haul when the revenues from under there are no longer available.

Source: This Day

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The eCommerce sector will experience a minor slowdown as government begins implementing automatic and direct collection of VAT on online transactions in Nigeria. See it this way: if a physical open market sells electric iron for N8, 000 and Jumia sells the same for N8,000, because Jumia’s customer will be required to pay VAT (5% of cost), the price will jump to N8,400. This extra N400 for online purchase will inflate the price against the open market which typically does not collect VAT.
(In U.S., the reverse was the case: eCommerce firms were originally not required to collect taxes unlike physical stores even though the eCommerce companies expect customers to self-report during tax filing. The non collection of online taxes helped Amazon significantly when it started.) The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says it will soon begin collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) on online transactions. The Chairman of the agency, Mr Babatunde Fowler, made the disclosure in an interview with Journalists in New York on Saturday. Fowler said: “soon, we will ask banks to impose VAT on online transactions for purchases of goods and services. “Not that it is something new; it actually should be in existence. “We will certainly follow up to make sure that every VAT that is due to be collected is collected.” He explained that the move was part of measures by FIRS to meet its N8 trillion revenue target for 2019. This program is going to be extremely challenging since government must ensure it is only commercial transactions that are charged VAT. Yes, it cannot effect VAT on online transactions like refund, loan payment, etc. Also, payments to foreign merchants may be excluded unless those foreign merchants are mandated to remit money to Nigeria. A good strategy will be to have regulations that any online commercial transaction must add VAT which will go direct to the bank. But if they make it that 5% will be deducted at source bank account after any online payment, chaos will be created. We will be watching how the government plans to roll out this online VAT collection in the nation. I expect a detailed publication in coming weeks that would define the rules for all the stakeholders.

Source: Tekedia

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Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, is one of the establishments charged primarily with the responsibility of accessing, collecting and accounting for the various taxes to the federal government. Tax paid by the citizens and businesses are used to meet budgetary demands to finance public projects and make the business environment conducive for economic growth.
In consonance with the belief by experts that the way to grow the economy is taxation, FIRS had embarked on series of reforms to achieve the aim. Hence, the service generated revenue from below two trillion naira per annum in 2015 to three trillion naira in 2016, four trillion naira in 2019 and five point three trillion naira in 2018. Analysts say the recent figure is more than half of 2019 federal budget. No wonder the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Mr. Modibbo Tukur applauded FIRS for revolutionalising tax administration in the country. For instance, up to forty-five million taxpayers have been brought into the federal tax net with the introduction of Tax Identification Number, TIN. Also, the comprehensive audit exercise embarked upon to verify major organizations self-assessment claims was described by tax experts as a step in the right direction. Apart from the aforementioned, the service made good its words by going after tax defaulters with huge funds in Nigerian banks through a process known as tax substitution or tax recovery through third parties. As commendable as these measures are the ultimate is to ensure that the benefits cascade to the general populace. Situations where individuals provide themselves with essential services and infrastructure such as water, electricity, good roads and healthcare should no longer arise. Hence, proceeds from tax should be properly guarded by relevant agencies and invested in key projects that will make life more meaningful for the citizens. When people begin to enjoy the dividends of governance, it boosts confidence in the tax process and encourages more compliance. At this juncture, investment in data management support structures is needful for proper monitoring of the whole process. There should also be continuous enlightenment for tax payers and collaboration with relevant stakeholders to sustain the process.

Source: Radio Nigeria

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Members of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria on Thursday declared that the government and its agencies should not kill oil marketers’ businesses with multiple taxation. DAPPMAN, MOMAN and IPMAN made the call at a stakeholders’ meeting on compliance monitoring of the midstream and downstream oil sector organised by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency in Abuja.
Also at the event, the Director General, NOSDRA, Idris Musa, told the oil marketers that his agency was now set to monitor operations in the midstream and downstream oil sector, adding that it would further enforce stipulated regulations. “We have seen a lot of oil pollution from midstream and downstream operations and we want those operating in these arms of the sector to understand some of the activities we will be carrying out shortly, just as we’ve been doing with those in the upstream arm of the industry,” Musa stated. He added, “So NOSDRA will start sending officers to oil stations belonging to members of DAPPMAN, MOMAN and IPMAN to ensure that your underground storage tanks and other facilities are in compliance with our regulations in order to effectively mitigate the pollution of our ground water and other parts of the environment.” Responding to comments made by the NOSDRA boss, the Executive Secretary, DAPPMAN, Olufemi Adewole, stated that ironically executive members of the oil marketers’ associations were just coming from a meeting where the issue of multiple taxation on marketers was discussed. He said, “For this same business of ours, the Department of Petroleum Resources, Federal Ministry of Environment, state governments and their agencies, as well as many others come with various tax demands. With all these taxes, how can the marketer break even? “Our plea is that when taxing marketers, do it in a way that our businesses are not forced to close down. This is because right now oil marketers are closing shop on a monthly basis due to the high cost of operation and excessive taxation. This, of course, is not healthy for our economy and the nation.” Adewole noted that the landing cost of petrol was over N200 per liter and that the government was spending about N700 annually in subsiding the commodity, adding that this was too high for marketers, which was why they (marketers) stopped importing the commodity. He urged NOSDRA to work in synergy with the Federal Ministry of Environment and other similar agencies in states so as to reduce the multiple taxes levied on marketers. Both the Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Clement Isong, and the National Vice Chairman, IPMAN, Abubakar Maigandi, corroborated the position of Adewole and urged the agency and the government to approach the matter pragmatically if they wanted the pump price of petrol to remain within the reach of the masses. But in a quick response to their concerns, the NOSDRA boss explained that what his agency was looking at was not majorly about taxation or to levy oil marketers.

Source: Punch

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The Federal Government on Friday said the tax being paid on a packet of cigarette containing 20 sticks would increase from N20 to N40 this month. Speaking at an event in Abuja to mark the 2019 World No Tobacco Day, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Abdulaziz Abdullah, also said the National Assembly on May 28 approved the tobacco Regulation Act.
He said based on the Nigeria Global Youth Tobacco Survey conducted in 2008 at sub-national level, 15.4 per cent of pupils between 13 and 15 in the country were tobacco users, with 4.5 million adults found to be consumers of the product. According to him, a survey has shown that 16,100 persons die every year due to tobacco-related diseases in Nigeria. He said, “I am delighted to inform you that the long awaited Regulations to the Act which the National Tobacco Control Committee drafted and vetted by the ministry and submitted to the National Assembly through the Federal Executive Council has finally been approved by the National Assembly on May 28, 2019 in line with Section 39 of the Act,” he added. Meanwhile, despite the campaign against the consumption of tobacco, the number of Nigerians who smoke cigarettes presently stand at about 3.1 million, the Pediatric Association of Nigeria, has said. The organization put the daily number of Nigerian smokers at 2.4 million and warned that by 2030 it had been estimated that about eight million persons worldwide would die annually from tobacco use. The Technical Director of PAN and Chief Medical Director of Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Prof. Edwin Eseigbe, said while delivering a paper on Friday that smoking has a record of causing respiratory tract infections, decreased lung function, asthma attacks, ear infections and tooth decay. Others were sudden infant death syndrome, death from respiratory infection, asthma, cognitive and behavioral issues.

Source: Punch

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The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has queried revenue shortfall of about N26.7 billion cby the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). The amount is in variance to the balance in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) coffers. The difference in the figure spread across revenue channels under the purview of FIRS. These include the Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Value Added Tax (VAT) and Company Income Tax (CIT).
The difference in figure remitted to the federation account was traced between December 2018 and January 2019.
Piqued by the difference in FIRS revenue record and the balance in the federation account with the Central Bank, FAAC mandated CBN and FIRS to meet and reconcile the figure . The development, New Telegraph learnt, was intensely discussed by FAAC members at the last meeting. A subcommittee was raised with a mandate to look at it and revert to FAAC with its findings. “The sub-committee observed that FIRS reported N199.16 billion as total PPT and VAT collections in January 2019 while CBN’s component statement indicated N199.07 billion, thus showing a shortfall of N90.88 million. “In the same disposition, FIRS reported N321.23 billion as total PPT and CIT collections for December 2018 federation account, while CBN component statement indicated N294.62 billion, revealing shortfall of N26.61 billion,” FAAC document noted. This was as FAAC confirmed payment and receipt of $40.7 million by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation/Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NNPC/NPDC) in January 2019, thus ending a protracted drag in respect of crude oil allocation. A presentation by FAAC sub-committee to the Forum noted that: “Members may recall that NNPC/NPDC made a commitment to use a combination of cash payments and direct monthly allocation of crude cargo to offset the outstanding of $1.74 billion SPDC goods and valuable consideration indebtedness to the federation account. “Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has confirmed the receipt of $40.7 million from January 2019 crude oil allocation of 670,000 barrels for that purpose. The said amount has already been credited to the designated account meant to settle NPDC indebtedness,” FAAC noted. It requested NNPC/NPDC to provide prevailing crude oil price in their subsequent report to it. However, to deal with other contending unresolved issues between FAAC and NNPC, including its subsidiary, NPDC, an ad hoc committee was set up. “The ad hoc committee comprises NNPC, DPR, FIRS and post-mortem consultant. The committee is expected to complete its assignment before sub-committee’s next meeting,” FAAC stated. FAAC, a forum for representatives of three tiers of government, meets monthly for consideration and allocation of revenue to the three tiers – Federal Government, states and 774 local government councils in line with approved revenue formula. Over time, remittances of revenue into federation purse had been characterized by arguments. The NNPC, unarguably a major source of revenue for federation account, had been allegedly accused on several occasions of revenue short-change by FAAC. The NNPC/FAAC’s perennial controversy got to head last year. In 2018 alone, FAAC suffered more than six abrupt cancellations at the height of stalemate over non-compliance to full revenue disclosure and remittances by the state-owned oil firm. FAAC was displeased with indiscriminate high deductions by NNPC to offset Joint Venture Cash Call (JVCC) obligations. It took the intervention by President Muhammadu Buhari who ordered a special committee to come up with a new and transparent template for remittance.

Source: New Telegraph


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Stakeholders in the telecommunication industry are calling on the Federal Government to give an executive order that will stop state and local governments from imposing multiple and punitive levies on infrastructure. They said the issue of multiple taxes had defied all level of engagements held with the state governments, lingered for too long and limiting the ubiquitous deployment of broadband infrastructure across the country.
They spoke at the maiden edition of the Nigerian Telecom Leadership Summit 2019 hosted by the Nigerian Communications Commission on Thursday. A former Minister of Communications and Technology, Dr Omobola Johnson, in her keynote address, noted that engagement with state governments on multiple taxation had lasted for too long. According to her, the best way to address the perennial challenge is to advocate for an executive order from the Federal Government. “I am so disappointed that I left the government in 2015 and in May 2019, we are still talking about multiple taxes, it doesn’t make any sense. Before I came into government, we talked about multiple taxes. To me, it shows that we haven’t understood the importance of getting these taxes out of the way. An executive order will do this thing. Just tell the state governors they can’t charge the infrastructure,” Johnson said. “I think what the NCC needs to start doing is to really begin to engage and be more forceful and unless we get these issues out of the way, we cannot build infrastructure for a digital economy.”

Source: Investors King

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The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has begun the distribution of its stamp and seal to its certified members, just few months after it emerged that tax returns without the institute’s authentications would be rejected. The presentation marks the full kick off of the implementation of the new directive that all tax returns to the Federal Inland Revenue Service must bear the stamp and seal of the institute, showing that declarations have been certified by a professional tax practitioner.
The President of CITN, Chief Cyril Ede, in an interview with The Guardian, said the stamp and seal presented to deserving members stand as an appointment, acknowledgement and authority of the institute to practice taxation in the country. They will use it to certify all the tax jobs they have done, as well as part of efforts to contain quackery, because the seal cannot be given to people who are not certified by the institute. Noting that FIRS is deeply interested in effective taxation in the country, he pointed out that the move has the support of FIRS, although the agency is mainly for tax administration, while CITN is for tax practice. “They know that CITN is their body. The Chairman of the board of the FIRS knows that CITN is the body of tax administrators and practitioners and they respect what we are doing. “They send their people here for training and certifications, help us organise our conferences and for the government. It has been established that it is only the seal of CITN that actually should be used in tax returns, although some people are still contesting it. “This institute is the only one certified by law and to control taxation profession in all its ramifications. So, we are battling it with the people who are protesting, who think that we shouldn’t be given that alone. In England, the practice of taxation derives authority from the institute of taxation. We have been doing our best to let everyone know. “We look forward to seeing genuine tax professionals and those who represent the institute and they will also be recognised because tax is taking a very wide dimension in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large. “The government has also realised that taxation is the backbone of the nation. No matter what it gets from oil, none of them can be steady as taxation and it can never be replaced by anything because from time immemorial tax was there. “What we are doing is to refine the system and the process and to make sure that taxation is done in a civilized way and that people understand because once you know that tax is a must, the best thing for you is to learn it and do it very well,” he said. While the institute’s yearly tax conference has come and gone, the tax expert said the body is now pressing the government to ensure that tax issues are appropriately stated in the nation’s fiscal plans. “We have difficulties because tax laws are not reviewed for years. In fact, since the return to civil rule, only two times have the tax laws been adjusted. So, we want tax to be reviewed and tax to be included in a proper budget process so that each year, everybody will know what is on the table for tax and the government itself. “Tax is law and you cannot impose any tax without passing a law on it. So the best way we suggested is to include it n the annual budget so that once you pass the budget, you pass the tax law that will reign for that year. “Because tax is very dynamic, it cannot be left to last for a very long time, as taxation goes with the prevailing economic environment. So, if you are doing it on a yearly basis, you will be capturing the environment and the economic situation of the country and then you will be able to ensure that the tax is effective,” he added.

Source: Guardian

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The Federal Inland Revenue Service generated N1.5 trillion revenue in the first quarter of 2019, according to its Chairman, Mr Babatunde Fowler. Fowler disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria in New York at the weekend. He said the amount included revenue from non-oil taxes that were 11 per cent higher than what the agency realised from that sector in Q1 of 2018.
“In the first quarter (of 2019), what I will say is that in the non-oil sector, we generated 11 per cent higher than what we generated in 2018. “Basically, we have generated about N1.5 trillion,” Fowler told NAN on the sidelines of a high-level meeting on illicit financial flows hosted by the United Nations General Assembly. The 2019 amount is N330 billion or 28 per cent higher than the N1.17 trillion reported by FIRS in the same period of 2018. NAN reports that the Q1 figure also represents 18.7 per cent of the agency’s total revenue target of N8 trillion for 2019. Fowler said the target, described by economy watchers as quite ambitious, was realistic with the cooperation of taxpayers, among other factors. He said, “It is quite realistic as long as we have the cooperation of taxpayers in addition to deployment of technology. “We have already started the enforcement of over 50,000 accounts that have banking turnover of 100 billion and above that have not filed their returns.” The FIRS boss also spoke of plans by the agency to surpass the over N1 trillion it realised from Valued Added Tax in 2018. “We will get more people into the tax net and deploy more technology. “We have what we call Auto VAT Collect, and that basically assists tax payers at the point of transaction, and the VAT portion is sent straight into the federation account. “So, we know that there is more room for growth in the VAT sector,” he explained.

Source: Punch

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The Federal Inland Revenue Service has said that it will soon begin the collection of Value Added Tax on online transactions. The Chairman of the agency, Mr Babatunde Fowler, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in New York on Saturday. Fowler said, “Soon, we will ask banks to impose VAT on online transactions for purchases of goods and services.
“Not that it is something new; it actually should be in existence. “We will certainly follow up to make sure that every VAT that is due to be collected is collected.” He explained that the move was part of measures by FIRS to meet its N8 trillion revenue target for 2019. Fowler said the agency had started taking action against companies and businesses that refused to embrace the Federal Government’s tax amnesty programme. According to him, FIRS hopes to generate between N750 billion and N1 trillion from the clampdown, which includes closure of defaulters’ bank accounts. “We are going after everybody. I am sure you have heard that we have placed lien on some accounts of defaulters that have a billion naira turnover annually. “So certainly, we are not leaving anyone out of the tax net,” he said. Officially known as the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme, the tax amnesty programme was launched in 2017. It gave tax defaulters a one-year period of grace to declare and settle their unpaid taxes.

Source: Punch

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