The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate allegations of fragrant abuse of tax incentives, tax breaks and tax waivers by institutions and companies benefiting from such incentives in Nigeria.
This was sequel to the adoption of a motion by a member from Osun state, Oluwole Oke, at plenary.
The lawmaker alleged that Nigeria is losing about N8 trillion annually to tax incentives and waivers and companies that abuse the system.
He said most of the abuses arise from fiscal items, such as capital allowances, Investment allowances, Pioneer Status Incentives, Free Trade Zone exemptions, Value Added Tax Exemptions, among others.
According to him, these have negatively affected Nigeria’s Tax to-GDP ratio which stands at 10.6%, being one of the lowest in Africa.
“It is within the ambits of the powers of the Federal Government to exercise executive and legislative jurisdiction over items in the Exclusive Legislative List contained in the Second Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999,” he asserted.
“Items like taxation of incomes, profits and capital gains, export and imports are exclusively within the control of the Federal Government.”
Mr Oke said available data shows that while the Federal Government has good intentions, these practices have and continue to create a major setback in the government’s purse.
The lawmaker expressed concern that if urgent steps were not taken to investigate the situation, Nigeria may not only be hanging on a fiscal cliff, but may fall off the cliff and be heading the way of Venezuela, namely, a situation wherein a country has huge resources but finds itself in deep economic crisis, recession and depression.
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