The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Tag: FIRS

  • FIRS: We cant fund 2022 budget because Nigerians evade tax

     

    The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has claimed that the Federal Government would be hampered in funding the N16.9 trillion 2022 budget because Nigerians were not faithful in tax remittances.

     

    Chairman of the agency, Muhammad Nami, in a television interview, yesterday, said only N4.2trillion was collected as taxes in nine months, a figure he said, was insufficient to fund the budget presented to the National Assembly last week by President Muhammadu Buhari.

     

     

     

    He said were Nigerians tax payers acted as envisaged, the country would have generated sufficient funds to execute the N16.9 trillion budget.

    He said government was having challenges with the oil sector, and that from the N4.2 trillion collected in nine months, N3.3 trillion came from non-oil related taxes, while the balance N950 billion came from oil related taxes.

     

    “What is happening now is an issue of attitude and a reflection of what we are. Nobody in the oil or non-oil sector wants to pay tax. We do know that there are challenges in the oil sector, but that will open up in another discussion. Because of our tax paying culture, we haven’t been able to get much from some of these companies, but with the technology that we are going to deploy, we will be able to monitor everything these companies do. We will do tax assessment, collection, accounting and also enforce tax administration, that is one of the major breakthroughs we got from the 2020 Finance Act, so that going forward, every company would be able to pay the right taxes.

     

     

     

    “We now have the power to monitor tax incentives and monitor businesses that will operate in export processing zones. We have generated N3.3 trillion from non-oil taxes alone, and if all things were equal, the oil taxes used to account for over 55 to 60 per cent of the total taxes that FIRS used to collect in the past. If everything were to be okay, we should have been talking about N7 trillion already because if the non-oil is already at N3.2trillion and it used to be about 40 per cent in a year in some cases, and if it is at a level we want it to operate, Nigeria would have been better for it.

     

    “Above all, this is a confirmation of the fact that Nigerians do not like paying taxes. If we were to be paying taxes, we would have been able to generate enough money to be able to fund a N16.9 trillion budget that was submitted to the National Assembly last week by the President. Why did I say Nigerians are not paying taxes, and the other sector is not cooperating at a level that we ordinarily should be? I said at the budget presentation, Saudi Aramco, the NNPC equivalent in Saudi Arabia, generated over $50 billion, which is over N20 trillion far more than we require to fund a budget of over 200 million people,” he said.

     

    He also revealed that the FIRS will pay more attention to taxes that it claimed have been ignored for long.

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.sunnewsonline.com

  • FIRS meals and refreshment budget of N1.4bn for 2021 Condemned

     

    Civil society organisations have condemned the N1.4bn budget for meals and refreshments by the Federal Inland Revenue Service in the 2021 fiscal year.

     

    The groups, including Transparency International and the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, accused the tax collecting agency of insensitivity and misplacement of priority.

     

    Executive Director, CISLAC and Head, Transparency International in Nigeria, Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani), expressed shock that such a huge amount could be set aside for frivolities at a time the nation’s economy was in dire straits.

     

    He said, “While the nation struggles hard to finance its budget, a significant proportion of the budget slips through mismanagement and reckless spending that intrinsically dominates public sector activities.

     

    “It is more worrisome that the reckless spending has been normalised with resultant underfunded critical sector that is vital to efficiently revamp the sinking economic development.

     

    “Given this background, the decision of Federal Inland Revenue Service to spend N1.4bn on meals and refreshment in 2021 is another irresponsible financial decision by a revenue institution preying on weak budgetary process and scrutiny, poor financial management system and inadequate legislative oversight activities associated with the public sector.

     

    “It is more worrisome that despite the under-funded critical sector with increasingly cost of governance, FIRS has not devised appropriate tax justice system to ensure social-justice and equity in the utilisation of remittances to ensure citizens benefit maximally, but requesting a whopping sum to be lavished on irrelevant activities.

     

    “We must be wary of reckless financial decisions that manifest in institutionalised mismanagement and revenue deficiency. This must be thoroughly checked by relevant authorities as common Nigerians are currently suffering from questionable mismanagement of public treasury and high cost of governance by successive administrations.”

     

    He also said, “While efficient governance is about ensuring that each amount of public funds is spent judiciously in a way that social welfare of all the citizens is maximized, the current high cost of governance that permeates Nigeria’s public sector impedes socio-economic development and shows negative impact on macro-economic stability, job creation and other socio-economic activities that drive growth and development.”

     

     

    FIRS now a cesspool of filth and corruption –HURIWA

    Speaking in a similar vein, the Executive Director of the Human Rights Writers Association, Emmanuel Onwubiko, described the situation as depressing and utterly unconscionable.

     

    Onwubiko said, “At a time of massive unemployment, mass poverty and high crime rates caused by lack of capacity on the part of the security forces and particularly the Nigeria Police Force that has collapsed due to poor funding, corruption and indiscipline, it is shocking that an agency of the Federal Government can set aside the sum of N1.4bn for them to feed and make merry all year round.

     

    “The Federal Inland Revenue Service has always been a cesspool of filth and massive corruption going by the antecedents of that agency with the immediate past head of that agency and many directors facing criminal prosecution for stealing several billions of Naira from the public treasury, so this revelation of a budget of N1.4bn for meals is a continuation of the heritage of corruption in the agency. This is shameful and must never be permitted.

     

    “There is the need for a clean sweep in that agency because it is clear that corruption is deeply rooted and needs surgical action to eradicate this social menace.”

     

    EFCC, ICPC must initiate probe

    The convener, Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution, Ariyo-Dare Atoye, equally condemned the proposal.

     

    He said, “This act of cruelty against the Nigerian people must not be allowed to be swept under the carpet. We cannot allow a few persons in our apex revenue generating agency to get away with this attempt to defraud the nation.

     

    “They must be told in no uncertain terms that they cannot take Nigerians for granted. Staff of this agency are very well paid to do their jobs; it does not make sense for them to swindle the nation using budgetary subheads. We will petition the EFCC and the ICPC to probe the leadership.”

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.punchng.com

  • EFCC arraigns former Director of FIRS

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Thursday, arraigned a former Coordinating Director of Federal Inland Revenue Service, Peter Hena and eight other officers of the agency before Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

     

    The others are the Director of Finance,Mohammed Auta; Amina Sidi (Finance and Account department); Umar Aduka (Internal Audit); Mbura Mustapha (Deputy Manager); Obi Malachy (Services Group); Obaje Adofu (Head of Budget); Udo-Inyang Alfred (Officer II) and Benjamin Jiya (Assistant Director).

     

    They are facing 42- count bordering on corruption, fraud and criminal misappropriation of funds to the turn of N4,558,160,676.9.

     

    This was contained in a statement by the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, titled, ‘EFCC arraigns three FIRS directors, six other officers for N4.5bn fraud.’

     

    Count one of the charge reads, “That you, Peter Hena, Mohammed Bello Auta, Amina Sidi, Umar Aliyu Aduka, Mbura, Mustapha, Obi Okeke Malachy, Obaje Napoleon Adofu, Udo-Inyang Effiong Alfred and Benjamin Jiya while being staff of the Federal Inland Revenue Services between January, 2017 and December 2018 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired together with the other officials of FIRS to conceal funds which are proceeds of an unlawful activities to wit: Corruption, Fraud and Criminal Misappropriation of Funds and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 18 and punishable under section 15(2) (a) and (3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 ( as amended by Act No. 1 of 2021).”

     

    The defendants pleaded not guilty.

     

    In view of their plea, prosecuting counsel, Ekele Iheanacho asked the court for a date to commence trial.

    But the defendants through their counsel prayed the court to grant them bail.

    Justice Ojukwu granted them bail in the sum of N100m each and sureties in like sum.

    The sureties who must be Nigerians residing in Abuja with landed property within the jurisdiction of the court, are also to provide evidence of tax clearance.

     

    The judge also ruled that the defendants are to deposit their travel documents with the court and to seek the permission of the court before travelling out of the country.

     

    The matter was adjourned till June 14, 15, 23, 24, 28, 29, 2021 for commencement of trial.

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.punchng.com