RMAFC Unearths over N115bn Tax Liabilities against FG, States

• Wants states reimbursed for executed federal projects

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

A tax recovery exercise carried out by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has uncovered a staggering N115 billion tax liabilities established against some federal and states’ ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), as well as local government councils spread across 30 states of the federation.

This is coming on the heels of the recent launch of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) and the signing of an Executive Order by the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo.

With the scheme, taxpayers are granted a nine-month amnesty to voluntarily declare their assets and pay commensurate tax with a waiver of interest and penalty.

A statement issued yesterday by RMAFC’s spokesman, Mr. Ibrahim Mohammed, said the commission was able to establish a total sum of N115, 811, 884,454.01 as tax liabilities in the first phase of the exercise covering the period between 2005 and 2015 spread across 30 states of the federation.

Only six states, including Adamawa, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Katsina and Kebbi States which were given a clean bill of health as they are bereft of any tax liabilities. RMAFC disclosed that at the end of the exercise which is ninety per cent completed, an additional sum of N40 billion is expected to be realised.

According to the statement, all the affected states, local governments and other agencies so far covered have passionately pleaded for waiver of penalty and interest totaling N24, 030,004,256.31 comprising N9,748,742,417.28 as penalty and N14,281,261,839.03 as interest respectively.

“In the course of the exercise, it was discovered that some federal government agencies domiciled in the states were not remitting Pay As You Earn (PAYE) to the state governments thus depleting their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base,” the statement added.
RMAFC has therefore called on the federal government to reimburse some of the state governments that executed federal government projects in their respective states so as to enhance their revenue profile.

“The commission also urged states like Bauchi, Cross River, Edo, Enugu and Rivers which are yet to participate in the exercise to do so in the spirit of equity and fair play since they continue to enjoy the proceeds of tax remitted by their counterparts,” the statement concluded.