More companies are moving to free zones established by the Nigerian Export Processing Free Zones Authority (NEPZA) and the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) to avoid taxes.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Oluwole Oke, revealed this during a Dialogue on Growth Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) in Abuja. It is a dialogue series supported by USAID and implemented by OrderPaper Advocacy.
He also queried OGFZA, being a separate entity and not licenced by NEPZA, noting that both free zones authorities ought to have been registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) but that they were now registered companies instead.
Oke said, “All the big companies paying taxes to Nigeria have suddenly moved to the free zones to avoid paying taxes. The Dangote Free Zone registered 101 companies in the place and NEPZA and CAC are not aware of these companies; where does that happen in other countries.”
He noted that with this model, Nigeria was losing huge tax revenues, and “this country is bleeding.”
The Executive Director, OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative (OAI), Oke Epia, said the dialogue focused on Nigeria’s revenue crisis and remittances from the (petroleum) extractive industry.
He called on the National Assembly to hasten amendment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (2007) to strengthen revenue remittances through an empowered Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC).
Executive Chairman of FRC, Victor Muruako, said the commission had caused over N1.7 trillion to be remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) even with all the lapses in the FRA, noting that the amended act would strengthen accountability.
“We have consistently made the advocacy, and will continue to do so, for the FRA to be amended so as to strengthen the commission and ultimately help enthrone culture of prudence, transparency and accountability in our public finance management,” he noted.