Posted by By Mike Oduniyi on
* Bill on EITI for speedy hearing - Mantu
The Federal Government has begun a comprehensive review of the nation's tax law with a view to putting in place a law that will compel every body, both private and public sector operators, who engaged in productive activities to pay taxes.
Also, the National Assembly said the draft bill for the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) will be given speedy hearing and quick passage to ensure that oil producing companies begin to disclose their revenues and payments.
Speaking with Nigerian journalists after the closing ceremonies of the 18th World Petroleum Congress (WPC) in Johannesburg, South Africa at the weekend, Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu said a bill for the restructuring of the nation's tax system, which was initiated by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) has been presented to the National Assembly for consideration and passage.
Mantu said available statistics showed that the Federal Goverenment was not able to capture 10 per cent of collectable taxes in the country as most Nigerians do not pay tax.
'The truth is that nobody at any given time wants to pay tax, generally speaking. To be honest with you, the Federal Government is not capturing 10 percent of the tax it is supposed to capture, generally, not only in the oil industry," he said.
He said the tax situation in the country was so bad that it is only the ordinary people that pays tax under the existing tax law in the country.
According to him, it is only the ordinary man that pays tax through the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) system that is actually paying the correct tax. "Big men like me do not pay tax, unless they decide to deduct the tax from our salaries. Otherwise, those who are not working for public institutions do not pay tax. They will only pay for fake tax clearance certificates when they are going to get contracts," he said.
Mantu said Nigerians should not expect government to make life worth living when the citizens do not carry out their own obligation.
Giving an insight into the proposed tax law, Mantu said anybody who engaged in one form of business activities or venture would be made to pay tax from the profit they realize from their business.
On the objection raised by the oil industry operators on the proposed review of the offshore tax law, Mantu said anywhere in the world, people who engaged in business activities pay taxes. He said whatever level of percentage arrived at by the National Assembly, the oil operating companies would have to comply with the law and pay their taxes.
He noted that Nigeria is not an exception to tax collection and that government has over the years lost huge amount of money to tax evasion and other practices where people just refuse to pay tax as a result of their business activities.
Mantu said that the tax law is a reform process, which will also be extended to the petroleum sector, pointing out that the oil industry should have a regulatory agency like the Telecommunication sector.
He said that to check the excesses of the oil producing companies, the National Assembly would also give accelerated passage to the transparency bill submitted by the NEITI, as a mark of the determination to ensure accountability in the oil sector.
According to him, the NEITI bill should in fact have been submitted to the assembly before now.
"The Bill that was sent to the National Assembly is like it is what we have been waiting for. Having been exposed to the industry and have been able to see the shortcomings, without accusing anybody, the truth is that the Bill should have come earlier than it did.
'My suggestion is that when we start the public hearings on the Bill, people should come out to help us understand the Bill better so that we can come up with a law that will help achieve our objective for the industry," he said.
The Deputy Senate President said he is not too comfortable with the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPRA) as presently constituted and that apart from fixing fuel prices the agency does no other thing.