Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on
Monday announced that wealthy Nigerians and corporate bodies evading tax have
90 days to declare appropriate taxes or face the full wrath of the law.
He gave the warning during the 57th
Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Lagos.
“A personal tax of N20 million
implies an income of N80 million a year with majority of them based in Lagos
State.
“Tax evasion is not just a civil
matter but is also a crime”, he said.
He warned all wealthy Nigerians
who had not been paying taxes to do so or be disgraced.
“We have established the
Beneficial Ownership Scheme where wealthy Nigerians who have been avoiding
paying their taxes have been given a 90-day period of grace after which if they
don’t disclose what they own in order to pay tax, they will face the full wrath
of the law,” he said.
He said the new approach had
yielded good outcome.
“A few wealthy Nigerians have
approached us to disclose what they own,” he stated.
Osinbajo had in June 2017 signed
an executive order on Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS),
aimed at facilitating tax collection by revenue collection agencies.
Under the order, tax evading
individuals and companies were to be given days of grace to declare and pay
their outstanding tax obligations, failing which they would be prosecuted.
The order took effect from July
1, 2017 and would last till March 31, 2018.
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