Following Saturday’s end of the deadline for its tax amnesty programme, Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said the Federal Government is currently reviewing the requests by states governments and private sector operators for an extension of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS).
Reacting to media enquiries in Abuja, Adeosun said some States of the Federation and the private sector had made numerous requests to extend the nine-month VAIDS window of opportunity to allow them more time to regularise their tax liabilities.
According to her, these requests citing “some logistic challenges such as non-availability of the declaration forms in some states and the declaration of public holidays to commemorate Easter” are now being reviewed.
The Minister reiterated that tax evaders risk forfeiture of their assets and prosecution, noting that the data mining unit of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Project Lighthouse, had compiled data of tax payers from land registries from 36 States and Federal Capital Territory as well as their bank accounts.
“We have also received tremendous support from foreign countries which provided data under the exchange of information protocols. The data include bank records and financial filings for tax purposes,” Adeosun added.
A statement by Oluyinka Akintunde, the Minister’s spokesman explained that the Project Lighthouse has identified the common VAIDS violations by non-compliant tax payers to include:
· Under-declaration of and non-declaration of income earned including income from Government contracts and overseas trading;
· Collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) which is not duly remitted to FIRS;
· Charging of non-allowable personal expenses to company accounts particularly with reference to overseas school fees;
· Inconsistency between income declared for tax purposes and the value of assets owned.