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
The United Arab Emirates has announced its decision to quit the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to focus on national interests.
This dealt a heavy blow to the oil-exporting group at a time when the US-Israel war on Iran had caused a historic energy shock and rattled the global economy.
The move, which will take effect on May 1, 2026, reflects “the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile”, a statement carried by state media said on Tuesday.
“During our time in the organisation, we made significant contributions and even greater sacrifices for the benefit of all,” it added. “However, the time has come to focus our efforts on what our national interest dictates.”
The loss of the UAE, a longstanding OPEC member, could create disarray and weaken the oil cartel, which has usually sought to show a united front despite internal disagreements over a range of issues from geopolitics to production quotas.
UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei said the decision was taken after a careful look at the regional power’s energy strategies.
“This is a policy decision. It has been done after a careful look at current and future policies related to the level of production,” the minister said.
OPEC’s Gulf producers have already been struggling to ship exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass, because of threats and attacks against vessels during the war.
The UAE had been a member of OPEC first through its emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1967 and later when it became its own country in 1971.
The oil cartel, based in Vienna, has seen some of its market power wane as the US has increased its production of crude oil in recent years.
Additionally, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have increasingly competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area.
The two countries had joined a coalition to fight against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis in 2015. However, that coalition broke down into recriminations in late December when Saudi Arabia bombed what it described as a weapons shipment bound for Yemeni separatists backed by the UAE.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc bested four price decliners on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, April 27. The alternative stock market opened the week bullish during the session with a 0.03 per cent uptick.
According to data, the security depository company added N2.61 to its share price to close at N76.26 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N78.87 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the platform increased by N820 million to N2.425 trillion from N2.424 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 1.38 points to finish at 4,053.97 points compared with the 4,052.58 points it ended last Friday.
The four price losers were led by NASD Plc, which slumped by N3.80 to sell at N34.70 per share versus N38.50 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc fell by N1.45 to N98.10 per unit from N99.55 per unit, Food Concepts Plc slid by 27 Kobo to N2.43 per share from N2.70 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc dipped by 9 Kobo to N2.91 per unit from N3.00 per unit.
The value of securities transacted by market participants went down by 82.0 per cent to N7.4 million from N41.3 million units, the volume of securities declined by 28.5 per cent to 319,831 units from 447,403 units, and the number of deals dropped by 34.1 per cent to 29 deals from 44 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units sold for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Also, GNI Plc was the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with a turnover of 400 million units worth N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The first trading day of the week in the currency market was bearish for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 27.
Yesterday, it lost N5.80 or 0.43 per cent against the United States Dollar to trade at N1,364.24/$1, in contrast to the N1,358.44/$1 it was traded last Friday.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N13.70 to close at N1,847.72/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,834.02/£1, and slumped against the Euro by N11.56 to sell at N1,602.29/€1 versus N1,590.73/€1.
Also, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the greenback during the trading day by N5 to quote at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.
The poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to liquidity shortage at the official currency market on Monday, which came amid surging demand for international payments. At $76.50 million, interbank liquidity printed higher across 79 deals, up from the $43.572 million reported on Friday.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves declined to $48.45 billion amid a month-long decline in inflows, amid uncertainties in the global commodity market. The depletion of foreign reserves could be partly attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the FX market.
The market remains perturbed by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market, while boosters, including oil prices, continue to look rocky due to stalled discussions and unclear ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran.
A look at the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) has been rejected near $79,000 three times in eight sessions, leaving the level as the de facto ceiling of its current trading range even as major cryptocurrencies trade lower over the past day. It lost 0.9 per cent to sell at $77,003.61.
Analysts say that upcoming US Federal Reserve policy decisions and top tech firms’ earnings this week could provide the catalyst to push bitcoin decisively above $80,000.
The market also continued to weigh Iran’s interim deal proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which failed to advance over the weekend. The White House said US officials were discussing the latest Iranian proposal but maintained “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war.
Solana (SOL) dropped 1.8 per cent to $84.25, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.6 per cent to $1.39, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $2,290.00, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 0.5 per cent to $625.18, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.2 per cent to $0.2480.
However, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 2.0 per cent to $0.1002, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3242, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
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