FIRS Forgives Tax Defaulters, Waives Debts, Penalties, Gives New Deadline to Comply

• The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has granted tax waivers and penalties to defaulters
• The service also gave the defaulting firms and individuals December 31 deadline to comply with tax laws
• The FIRS said the service is poised to ensure tax compliance in Nigeria

Pascal Oparada has over a decade of experience covering Tech, Energy, Stocks, Investments, and Economy.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has announced a waiver on accumulated penalties and interests for outstanding liabilities until December 31, 2023.

The Chairman of FIRS, Zacch Adedeji, disclosed this in a statement released by his special adviser, Dare Adekanbi, on Sunday, November 3, 2023.

Adedeji said the decision was to ease the burden on taxpayers and businesses and promote compliance with tax laws.

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FG forgives tax defaulters to ease burdens on Nigerians

TheCable reports that Adedeji said penalties and interests were imposed for failure by firms to fulfill their tax obligations as and when due, as stipulated in existing tax laws.

He said:

"Forgiveness on piled up penalties and interests was in recognition of the challenges many taxpayers have faced in settling their outstanding tax liabilities."

According to the FIRS boss, firms wishing to benefit from the concession must fully pay the original tax without interest.

"Taxpayers are advised that the interest waiver is subject to the full settlement of outstanding principal on or before December 31, 2023."

"Please note that the full penalty and interest shall be reinstated after the expiration of this one-off concession window where the outstanding undisputed liability remains fully or partially unpaid," Adedeji stated.

The federal government is committed to solving Nigeria's tax evasion challenges.

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The FIRS boss said this at the National Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria's (CICAN) annual workshop awards.

This comes after Taiwo Oyedele, the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms's Chairman announced plans to scrap about 50 taxes in Nigeria, Legit.ng reported.

Lost revenues to be recovered

Adedeji said that the tax service is working on recovering lost revenues as well as preventing tax leakages through improved tax enforcement schemes.

This aligns with the federal government's pronouncement to improve the tax-to-GDP ratio to 18% in three years without imposing additional taxes.

He said this can be achieved through tax law and boosting compliance.

FG rakes in N2 trillion taxes from Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, other foreign companies

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that tech companies and other social media platforms such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, Netflix, and other foreign companies operating in Nigeria paid over N1.98 trillion in taxes to the Nigerian government in 15 months.

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The amount includes both Company Income Tax and Value Added Tax, which are based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

According to FIRS, company income tax (CIT) is a 30% tax charged on companies' profit while VAT is a 7.5% consumption tax paid when goods are bought. Services are provided and are borne by the final consumer.

Source: Legit.ng