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The Federal Government said it has engaged a global investigation agency in a bid to trace illicit funds originating from Nigeria to different parts of the world.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, on Friday, stated this while in a keynote address at the 3rd Nigerian Stock Exchange-Bloomberg CEO roundtable in Lagos.
She said, “We have just 40 million active taxpayers out of an estimated 69.9 million, who are economically active in Nigeria. And of that 40 million, the majority are PAYE (Pay As You Earn), that is, those who have their tax deducted at source.
“Among those who are even paying taxes, there is widespread malpractice that results in only part of the actual income being subjected to tax.”
“These practices harm Nigerians and must stop,” said the minister, who described the nation’s tax to Gross Domestic Product ratio of six per cent as one of the lowest levels in the world.
“We have a lot of work to do if we are going to build a sustainable revenue base that will deliver the growth we desire. Even within our tax-paying community, only 214 people in the entire nation pay taxes of N120m in spite of having some of the richest people in Africa and some of the best capitalised companies in Africa; only 214 in the entire country, all of who are in Lagos State,” the minister stated.
She noted that the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday granted permission for the Ministry of Finance to sign the global convention on base erosion and profit shifting that allowed companies that generate profits in Nigeria to evade taxes by shifting the profits to countries or jurisdictions where little or no tax was payable.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, on Friday, stated this while in a keynote address at the 3rd Nigerian Stock Exchange-Bloomberg CEO roundtable in Lagos.
She said, “We have just 40 million active taxpayers out of an estimated 69.9 million, who are economically active in Nigeria. And of that 40 million, the majority are PAYE (Pay As You Earn), that is, those who have their tax deducted at source.
“Among those who are even paying taxes, there is widespread malpractice that results in only part of the actual income being subjected to tax.”
“These practices harm Nigerians and must stop,” said the minister, who described the nation’s tax to Gross Domestic Product ratio of six per cent as one of the lowest levels in the world.
“We have a lot of work to do if we are going to build a sustainable revenue base that will deliver the growth we desire. Even within our tax-paying community, only 214 people in the entire nation pay taxes of N120m in spite of having some of the richest people in Africa and some of the best capitalised companies in Africa; only 214 in the entire country, all of who are in Lagos State,” the minister stated.
She noted that the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday granted permission for the Ministry of Finance to sign the global convention on base erosion and profit shifting that allowed companies that generate profits in Nigeria to evade taxes by shifting the profits to countries or jurisdictions where little or no tax was payable.
