Minister of Finance Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has
declared that the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) has
given the Federal Government access to data of Nigerians with hidden assets.
Mrs. Adeosun made this known while speaking on
Good Morning Nigeria, a Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) interview
programme.
According to the minister, the ease with which
people evade taxes and get away with it is no longer possible because of the
huge data on property ownership.
The data, she said, were obtained from land
registries, especially on properties in highbrow neighborhoods of Lagos and
Abuja.
“We have cases whereby people live somewhere
else other than where their properties are located. For example, you own a
property in Lagos but reside in Rivers. In the past, we relied on the honesty
of such person to make his asset declaration or income made therefrom. But now,
we don’t have to because we have gathered data. Now, all such a person needs to
do is to declare that rent earned and pay the right tax on it,” the minister
said.
Mrs. Adeosun explained that through data
collected, the Federal Government has detected many people whose lifestyle do
not justify the tax they pay or who do not pay any at all.
She assured the citizens such people would not
be prosecuted or made to pay their tax arrears if they file the proper returns
and regularise their tax payment before the VAIDS deadline on March 31.
For those with assets abroad, the minister said
the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEoI), to which Nigeria is signatory,
will deliver data on such with or without a formal request.
“VAIDS is a very simple formula. It takes you
through a process where you look at your assets and your lifestyle and if there
is a disconnect, that means your tax status is irregular,” she said.
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