FIRS To Go Aafter 325,000 Companies And Persons For Tax Evasion

The Federal Inland Revenue Service would soon go after multinational companies, corporate organisations and individuals who are evading payment of taxes in the country.

Executive Chairman, FIRS, Dr. Babatunde Fowler

The move, according to Sunday Punch’s investigations, is part of a renewed effort by the agency to boost tax revenue to fund the programmes of the Federal Government.

Statistics obtained from the service revealed that out of the 450,000 companies in Nigeria, only 125,000, representing 27.7 per cent, pay any form of taxes.

Going by this figure, it implies that about 325,000 companies are evading tax, thus denying the government huge revenue annually.

In the 2015 fiscal year, the FIRS was given a revenue generation target of N4.5tn by the Federal Government and it has so far generated N2.667tn.

But between January and July, findings by SUNDAY PUNCH showed that the service had collected a total sum of N2.374tn against the target of N2.667trn, thus having a revenue shorfall of N290bn within the seven-month period.

The past Chairman of the FIRS, Mr. Sunday Ogungbesan, had said the service was finding it difficult to track the financial activities of those who did not pay taxes, as most of the evaders were no longer active.

But the Acting Executive Chairman, FIRS, Mr. Babatunde Fowler, in his first official meeting with the management staff of the service, was said to have vowed to ensure that all tax revenue due to the government would be recovered from all tax payers.

Fowler said his administration would not take the issue of tax evasion lightly, as he was aware that some foreign companies that were operating in Nigeria were being investigated in England for evading taxes.

He said, “No country can succeed without taxation. We will make sure that we cover all ground, especially on the corporate level; all tax payers within each state will be covered.