"Only 914 people pay between N10m and N20m tax every year in Nigeria and 912 of them reside in Lagos"- VP Osinbajo says

While speaking at the launch of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme in Abuja yesterday June 29th, acting president, Yemi Osinbajo, said statistics from the Federal Inland Revenue Service FIRS, shows that out of the active population of 70 million people in Nigeria, only 14 million of them are taxpayers.

According to Osinbajo, 914 Nigerians pay between N10m and N20m tax yearly and that of the 914 persons, 912 of them are residents of Lagos state while the remaining two reside in Ogun State. The vice president said that this is considerably low considering the fact that Nigeria boast of very wealthy persons with choice properties within and outside the country.

According to him, it is only those who work in very formal offices that mostly pay their tax.

“Those who earn salaries that are known in a formal setting are those we know that pay taxes. Outside of that group of people, there are many high net worth individuals, self-employed persons and some companies that are able to evade full tax payment due to the limited knowledge of the tax authorities to assess their true income. According to the FIRS, the total number of taxpayers in Nigeria is just 14 million; of this number, 96 per cent of them have their taxes deducted at source from their salaries under the Pay-As-You-Earn system, while just four per cent are under direct assessment. So, the vast majority of Nigerians do not pay taxes.

This is at variance with our economy where almost 70 million Nigerians are economically active. The statistic of those paying taxes are quite alarming. Despite having some of Africa’s wealthy people, whose lifestyles are the subject of global admiration, only 214 Nigerian pay taxes of N20m or more each year. A personal tax of N20m implies that the person is earning personal income of N80m a year. That group of 214 excludes many names who can pay well over N20m"he said

Osinbajo announced the grace of the next nine months for tax evaders to go and regularize their payments with the appropriate authorities, failure to do so could earn them criminal prosecution. He added that the Federal government is currently carrying out a secret investigation into the earnings of some highly placed Nigerians and the tax they pay to government.

Comments

CJN Tanko unveils panel to hear Atiku’s appeal against Buhari

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed is presiding over the 7-man panel that will hear the appeals filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari at the February 23 poll. Other members of the panel are Bode Rhodes-Vivour, Amiru Sanusi, Uwani Abaji, Ejembi Eko, John Inyang Okoro and Olukayode Ariwoola. Atiku and his party are challenging the September 11 judgment of the Justice Mohammed Garba-led Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal which affirmed President Buhari’s victory at the polls. The appeals hearing has generated some controversies especially due to the silence of the Supreme Court on the justices that would constitute the panel, with the Coalition of United Progressives Party (CUPP) demanding the use of seniority in selecting them. A senior member of Atiku’s legal team, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), told reporters that they considered it strange that as at

NNL: Sanni dumps Saraki Boys

Tunde Sanni, head coach of the Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) FC of Ilorin has resigned, Coordinator of the team, Idris Musa, said on Monday. Musa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin that Sanni had turned in his resignation letter later after a meeting with the team’s Director of Football, Alloy Chukwuemeka. After the meeting, Chukwuemeka and Sanni refused to comment on the matter. The club’s U-15 coach, Taofeeq Babatunde, has been drafted to assist the Assistant Coach, Suleiman Quadri, pending when a substantive manager will be appointed. His resignation may be due to recent results, which were not in favour of the Saraki Boys. The team lost to Kebbi United 3-2 on penalties after 1-1 draw during regulation time in the round of 64 encounter of the Aiteo Cup in Minna. The Saraki Boys also lost 3-0 to Mighty Jets of Jos and drew 0-0 with the Jos-based side in the return leg on Wednesday in Ilorin at Bet9ja Nigeria National League’s (NNL), Match Day 10 encounter.

Chechnya leader makes Mo Salah honorary citizen

Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov has made Egypt’s talismanic striker Mohamed Salah an honorary citizen of the southern Russian region at a farewell banquet held for the eliminated World Cup side. Rights groups and Western governments allege that authorities in Chechnya repress their political opponents, discriminate against women and persecute sexual minorities, all allegations that Chechnya’s leaders deny. Chechnya has been hosting the Egyptian team’s World Cup training camp and Kremlin-backed Kadyrov has seized on opportunities to appear alongside Salah. Sarah’s goalscoring exploits for Liverpool and Egypt have made him an international superstar. “Mohamed Salah is an honorary citizen of the Chechen Republic. “Yes, that’s right! Tonight I signed a decree conferring this high award on the great footballer and member of the Egypt and Liverpool teams,” Kadyrov wrote on Telegram. Salah was presented with a badge and a copy of the decree at the dinner, Kadyrov said. The Egy

BAMY BLOG

Search This Blog