FG loses N5.4tr to tax evasion by multinationals in 10yrs

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said Nigeria lost over $178 billion (about N5.4 trillion) through tax evasion by multinational firms between 2007 and 2017.

Executive Chairman, FIRS, Mr. Muhammad Nami, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday at a ‘Workshop on Effective Audit of Multinational Corporations for Domestic Revenue Mobilisation in Nigeria,” organized by FIRS and the Tax Justice Network.

• Over $30m loan available to private healthcare providers in Nigeria, other countries
• No, COVID vaccine won’t leave ‘invisible mark’ to be used as ‘immunity passport’

He also said in a bid to stem illicit financial flow out of Nigeria and improve tax compliance rate in the country, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) created 35 additional Tax Audit Units in the country last year.

Although the FIRS head said some multinational corporations were “leading in tax compliance in various sectors” he, however, expressed worries that “many rich Multinational Corporations do not pay the right taxes due from them, let alone pay their taxes voluntarily.”

Nami also cited a 2014 report by the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, which stated that Nigeria accounted for 30.5 per cent of money lost by the continent through illicit financial flows.

He further stated that with the signing of the 2021 budget of N13.588tr on December 31, 2020 by President Muhammadu Buhari and given the recent decline of oil resources, taxation is expected to continue to shoulder the Government’s budget performance like it did in 2020.