Economy
VAIDS: Tax Evaders to Lose Assets, go to Jail after March 31—Adeosun
By Dipo Olowookere
For the umpteenth time, Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has stressed the Federal Government will not think twice in punishing tax evaders in the country, especially those who fail to take advantage of the tax amnesty window called the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) to properly declare their income or pay taxes accordingly.
The VAIDS window, which was launched in June 2017 by the then Acting President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, is expected to expire on March 31, 2018.
Speaking on Thursday during the Stakeholder Interactive Session on VAIDS at the Murtala Muhammed Square, Kaduna State, the Minister lamented that from available data, only low income earners and mostly civil servants whose taxes are deducted at source comply while large business tycoons who earn more evade taxes.
“Currently, we have just 14 million tax payers out of 70 million who are economically active. So, many people who should be paying are not paying anything. It is the development of taxes that will help the States and the Federal Government to achieve their true potentials.
“Government is not stigmatizing or accusing anybody but will not tolerate it any further, hence Nigerians are encouraged to take advantage of the window now or invaders should be ready to face prosecution at the expiration of the window by the end of this month,” Mrs Adeosun stressed.
The Minister reiterated government’s commitment to improving on its income generation for improved service delivery to the good people of Nigeria, but emphasised that citizens must play their part of effecting accurate tax payments for owned properties.
VAIDS, Mrs Adeosun said, is reflective of the Federal Government’s desire to bring many more eligible tax payers into the tax net and encourage with incentives of confidentiality as well as waiver of the interests and penalties, those who had knowingly or otherwise under-declared or never declared previously earned incomes and acquired assets.
“The scheme also offers tax defaulters the option of spreading payment of outstanding liabilities over a maximum period of three years as may be agreed with the relevant tax authority.
“For tax evaders that fail to key into the VAIDS window by 31st March, 2018, they will be liable for interest on overdue tax balances, forfeiture of assets as well as imprisonment of up to five years,” she stated.
Earlier, the Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Mr Tunde Fowler, and the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Ahmad Idris, in their separate speeches, said the concept of VAIDS was to rekindle the very essence of collection of taxes to aid socio-economic development.
They both posited that expected development cannot come from nothing but through the commitment of resources which mostly must come through tax payments by citizens.
This is just as the FIRS boss appealed to the consciousness of Nigerians to be mindful of moral responsibility by giving what is due to government by way of tax payments which will be judiciously utilized to provide dividends of democracy.
On his part, Kaduna State Governor, Mr Nasir el-Rufai, promised to provide all relevant information on all property owners in the state to all the tax authorities in the country through the Kaduna Geographical Information Service (KADGIS).
He described as unjust and unfair that big men (wealthy people) were mostly the ones evading taxes in Nigeria, stressing that at whatever cost, he will collaborate with relevant tax authorities to ensure that such people who fail to take advantage of the window provided by VAIDS are brought to book accordingly.
The one-day stakeholders’ interactive session had in attendance business leaders, traditional rulers, captains of industry, state government officials and professional tax advisors and administrators.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil went down on Tuesday after a projection showed steady demand in the world’s largest oil producer, the United States, for 2025, Brent futures declining by $1.09 or 1.35 per cent to settle at $79.92 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude losing $1.32 or 1.67 per cent to finish at $77.50 a barrel.
On Tuesday, the US Energy Information Administration said the country’s oil demand would remain steady at 20.5 million barrels per day in 2025 and 2026, with domestic oil output rising to 13.55 million barrels per day, an increase from the agency’s previous forecast of 13.52 million barrels per day for this year.
Also, the oil market shrank a few days after prices gained following new US sanctions on Russian oil exports to India and China.
On Monday, prices jumped 2 per cent after the US Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas as well as 183 vessels that transport oil as part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of tankers.
Analysts say this move could have a significant price impact on Russian oil supplies from the fresh sanctions, however, their effect on the physical market could be less pronounced than what the affected volumes might suggest.
ING analysts estimated the new sanctions had the potential to erase the entire 700,000 barrels per day surplus they had forecast for this year, but said the real impact could be lower.
Uncertainty about demand from China, the world’s largest oil importer, could impact tighter supply this year.
China’s crude oil imports fell in 2024 for the first time in two decades outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, official data showed on Monday.
Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the US fell by 2.6 million barrels for the week ending January 10.
For the week prior, the API reported a draw of 4.022 million barrels in US crude oil inventories amid build season, while product inventories saw a hefty build.
In 2024, crude oil inventories dropped by more than 12 million barrels, according to the API’s inventory data. In the first few weeks of 2025, crude inventories have shed more than 6.6 million barrels.
Official data from the US EIA will be due later on Wednesday, confirming the actual level of stockpiles.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited came under heavy selling pressure on Tuesday, going down by 1.66 per cent as investors embarked on profit-taking after most stocks on the trading platform gained in the past few trading sessions.
It was observed that the industrial goods sector was the most affected yesterday as it went down by 4.99 per cent due to the decline suffered by Dangote Cement and others.
The insurance continued its downward trend during the day as it lost 2.80 per cent, the consumer goods counter fell by 0.27 per cent, and the banking index shed 0.10 per cent, while the energy sector appreciated by 0.29 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) deflated by 1,745.16 points to settle at 103,622.09 points compared with the previous trading day’s 105,367.25 points and the market capitalisation moderated by N1.1 trillion to finish at N63.188 trillion versus Monday’s N64.252 trillion.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment remained weak on Tuesday after the bourse ended with 41 depreciating equities and 23 appreciating equities, representing a negative market breadth index.
Honeywell Flour lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N9.54, Dangote Cement declined by 9.98 per cent to N431.00, Julius Berger crashed by 9.98 per cent to N139.80, Sovereign Trust Insurance decreased by 9.68 per cent to N1.12, and Prestige Assurance tumbled by 9.30 per cent to N1.17.
On the flip side, Northern Nigerian Flour Mills appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N45.10, Livestock Feeds grew by 9.91 per cent to N6.10, Academy Press expanded by 9.90 per cent to N3.22, University Press increased by 9.82 per cent to N4.81, and Neimeth gained 9.76 per cent to quote at N3.15.
During the session, market participants bought and sold 503.3 million shares valued at N12.6 billion in 12,900 deals compared with the 505.8 million shares worth N8.1 billion traded in 14,259 deals a day earlier, indicating a rise in the trading value by 55.56 per cent and a drop in the trading volume and number of deals by 0.49 per cent and 9.53 per cent, respectively.
The most active stock for the session was GTCO with 54.4 million units worth N3.2 billion, Nigerian Breweries transacted 32.2 million units for N1.0 billion, Universal Insurance traded 30.8 million units valued at N22.6 million, AIICO Insurance exchanged 26.6 million units worth N47.2 million, and Chams transacted 20.0 million units valued at N40.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government is offering two new savings bonds with interest rates between 17 and 18 per cent through the Debt Management Office (DMO).
In a statement by the agency, the country said retail investors can purchase the two-year bond maturing in January 2027 at 17.23 per cent interest, while the three-year paper maturing in January 2028 at a coupon rate of 18.23 per cent.
Bonds are very safe financial instrument that serve as investments because they are backed by the federal government, which promises to pay back the money.
According to the DMO, people can buy these bonds starting January 13, 2025, until January 17, 2025, with allotment expected on January 22, 2025, and the interest to be paid to investors every three months – in April, July, October, and January.
These bonds have some special features. They are tax-free under both company and personal tax laws.
Big investors like pension funds and trustees are allowed to buy them and each bond costs N1,000 each.
However, interested investor can only buy at least N5,000 worth, and can’t buy more than N50 million.
This comes after the Ms Patience Oniha-led debt office said the Nigerian government was offering three bonds worth N150 billion in September 2024.
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