By Matthew Denis
Business owners in Kwara State have appealed to the Federal Government for extension of the tax amnesty for the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme.
The government had offered tax amnesty between July 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018 for tax defaulters to voluntarily pay back.
In exchange for full and honest declaration, the government promised to waive penalties and also interest that should have been paid on overdue taxes.
Also, those who declared their tax obligations honestly will not be subjected to any investigation or tax audit after the nine -month grace period.
Investigations by our correspondent at the weekend revealed that several business owners in Kwara State are yet to declare their assets.
Some were seen at state office of the Federal Inland Revenue Service in a last minute rush to get their assets registered.
Speaking to Pilot Business, The Chief Executive Officer of D-Positive Concept, Mr. Nasir AbdulQuadri said โI will support the idea of extension for the scheme as it will give more people opportunity to register their assets.”
According to him, โthe Federal Government has the jurisdiction to clampdown on defaulters but will be a good omen for organisations and individuals who are yet to key into the programme.”
Also speaking, The Chief Executive Officer of Chieftains Builders, Prince Felix Chinedu Ibeh blamed low sensitisation for the poor response to the scheme.
He said, โWe expect Federal Government through FIRS to organise campaigns to enlighten business owners in Ilorin, on the scheme.
โThose of us in the business sector have not been enjoying robust relationship with federal tax agencies. They will just write to inform that we owe certain amount and give deadline for payment, without consultation.
โPersonally, I’m advocating intensive awareness of the scheme by the Federal Government to woo more people to comply as the economy is presently harsh.
โAnother pertinent issue is that the Federal Government should judiciously use the tax collected for infrastructural development.
On his part, the Chairman of Padson Nigeria Limited, Chief Hezekiah Oladipo, who noted that the tax amnesty programme is a good initiative by the government, called for its extension to capture more business units in the economic sector.
