Fowler said tax defaulters who do not take advantage of the scheme would have themselves to blame, as the Federal Government would not extend the deadline. He spoke in Abuja at a training workshop for professionals, advising clients on participation in the VAIDS initiative. The VAIDs programme offers a grace period from July 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018 for tax defaulters to voluntarily pay back to government what they owe. In exchange for full and honest declaration, the government promises to waive penalties that should have been levied and also waive the interest that should have been paid on overdue tax. Also, those who declare their tax obligation honestly would not be subjected to any investigation or tax audit after the nine-month grace period. Responding to an earlier request made by the President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Mr. Cyril Ede, at the event that the deadline be extended to September 2018, the FIRS boss said those who do not believe in the scheme would not declare their assets voluntarily, even if the nine-month grace period was to be extended by 10 years. He said, “This programme will not be extended. It is a Federal Government’s initiative, it was adopted by the Senate, the House of Representatives and I think people who have an intention to do the right thing, even if you give them six months, would perform within six months. “But for individuals or corporate organisations who have no intention of doing the right thing, even if you give them 10 years, they would not perform within that period. “Let us stick to this date and I’m aware that many people will like to wait to the last moment for the rush.” He said the Federal Government might offer defaulters with huge tax liabilities the opportunity to spread their tax payment under the VAIDS initiative. He said this is one of the strategies of the government to ease the burden of those who might have taken advantage of the new tax scheme but have huge tax liabilities that may be difficult to offset at once. Fowler said, “We should advise them (tax defaulters) that even if they declare, it doesn’t mean they have to make the payment on the day that they declared. “They are still given time and so let them prepare themselves because there are possibilities of extending the payment time, subject to the approval of the taxing authorities, whether it is federal or states. He called for support from tax professionals to make the scheme successful, adding that through the initiative, the government intends to raise the level of revenue generation through taxes. Earlier, Ede had said the CITN would support the tax initiative to succeed. He, however, called for an extension of the deadline from March 31, 2018 to end of September 2018. This, he noted, would enable more tax defaulters to key into the programme. He argued that in South Africa where the tax compliance rate is higher than that of Nigeria, the scheme was implemented under an 11-month time-frame. He wondered why Nigeria, with a low tax compliance rate, would implement similar programme within nine months. He said, “This kind of partnership underscores the fact that we believe in the VAIDS programme and we have informed our members on the need to support the scheme. “But we want the deadline of March 31 to be extended to September 2018 to allow many tax defaulters to regularise their positions.”]]>
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