Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has revealed it plans
to collaborate with Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and other stakeholders to ensure
payment of tax by millionaire defaulters in 2019.
Tunde Fowler, FIRS Executive Chairman, said the Service is
going after no fewer than 85,000 millionaires in 2019 over tax default.
Bua group
According to Fowler, FIRS had already realised the sum of
N23 billion based on a closer look at the books of 45,000 tax debtors. He said
each of the 45,000 tax debtors had over N100 million as turnover in their
accounts.
Fowler added that FIRS would be going after another set of
over 40,000 millionaire tax defaulters in 2019.
He said
“We looked at businesses, partnerships of any activity that
has banking turnover between N100 million and N999 million. We have done a
review of this group of businesses.
“We have about seven more banks that we are still waiting
for the return from and to review their information.
“so far, we have 45,361 that have tin and are making
payments. we have 40,611 that have tin, that made tax payment and we have
44,504 that have no tin and no pay.
“so, when you look at it from a glance, we have close to
75,000 in this group that are still not taxpayers and we have said the payment
of tax is not only for the civil servants, it’s for all nigerians. so, the
millionaires and the billionaires will pay tax on behalf of what is due to the
national coffers.”
Nairametrics had reported that in less than a month the
agency commenced its substitution of accounts of recalcitrant billionaires who
have not been paying commensurate taxes, FIRS collected N12.66 billion as
taxes.
How FIRS collected the tax
Fowler said the FIRS wrote to all commercial banks in the
country as at May 2018, requesting for a list of companies, partnerships, and
enterprises with banking turnover of N1 billion and above.
This activity, according to Fowler, is aimed at ascertaining
those companies that are compliant with the tax laws and those that are not
compliant. So far, the non-compliant organisations have paid about N12.66
billion.
FIRS had vowed to sell the properties of tax evaders in the
country. While announcing the government’s decision, Fowler said the government
is not only willing to sell properties built and developed in corporate names
across the country on which taxes were not being paid, but will freeze
thousands of bank accounts.
