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NIGERIANS with assets and investments overseas who failed to declare such in a bid to evade paying taxes have been promised amnesty by the Federal Government.
Ministers for Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami and his Finance counterpart, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, gave the hint in Abuja yesterday while unveiling the “Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularisation Scheme (VOARS).”
Malami explained that, just like the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), the rationale for the VOARS is to provide an opportunity for taxpayers or amnesty for tax defaulters to voluntarily declare their offshore assets and income from sources outside Nigeria relating to the preceding 30 years of assessment.
The AGF said that anyone, who voluntarily declare his/her offshore assets will be entitled to “permanent waiver of criminal prosecution for tax offences and offences related to the offshore assets, penalties and interests concerning such declared offshore assets.
Malami added that those who voluntarily declare will “receive from Federal Government of Nigeria an Offshore Assets Regularisation Compliance Certificate on the declared and regularised offshore assets.
“Be free to use or invest their duly regularised residual offshore assets in any manner in Nigeria or overseas and be subject only to annual tax to Federal Government of Nigeria on the income earned on such residual offshore assets.”
The AGF expressed optimism that President Muhammadu Buhari will grant an extension since, the scheme, meant to last a year, beginning from October last year was just being unveiled.
Malami said the legal basis for VOARS exists in the Executive Order 8 (EO8) signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on October 8, 2018.
He said the EO8 also provides the legal basis for a group, the Swiss Consortium to approach third-party holders of offshore funds, with a view to accessing information on the owners.
The minister said the third party intended in the scheme include: banks, estate managers, auditors and accountants.
Mrs. Ahmed said the introduction of VOARS aims to serve as an additional opportunity and mechanism for Nigerian citizens to continue to fulfil their tax obligations by extending the scope to offshore assets and foreign-sourced income.
Mrs. Ahmed explained that the VOARS provides a one-year window, commencing from the October 8, 2018 for affected taxpayers to declare all offshore assets and foreign-sourced income without the threat of criminal prosecution for tax offences related to undeclared offshore assets.
She added: “Through this scheme, it is our aim that the culture of accountability and I honesty in citizens to fully declare any income and assets owned will begin to grow and will encourage more citizens to readily come forward to declare without any threat of interrogation and/or prosecution.”
[The Nation]
