The outgoing Chairman, Senate Committee on Anti-Money laundering and Cyber Security Coalition, Senator Aloysius Etok has revealed that Nigeria has lost over N2 trillion revenue in the last four years due to tax evasion and indiscriminate tax waivers by agencies of government.
According to him, the Committee carried out clinical investigation on powers of agencies of government in charge of government revenue with regards to tax waivers and otherwise only to discover that officials of government were deep necked in corruption in handing tax matters to the extent that Corporations and some multinational companies in Nigeria were unnecessarily enjoying tax holidays.
On the recent investigations carried out by the Committee as a result of public outcry , its Chairman revealedthose companies that have been evading their tax obligations to the federal government of Nigeria as Arab Contractors, Septa Energy, Tower Aluminium, JMG Generators, B. Stabilini, Continental Transfer Technique Ltd and others.
He recalled that in 2008, West African Container Terminal as at then was a subsidiary of Maerskline Shipping Company was indicted for tax evasion to the tune of N800 million to the Nigeria Port Authority.
The Senator who represents Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial district decried the culture of government officials conniving with foreign investors to deny government of its revenue and urged them to desist from doing so in the change momentum that has dawn on Nigeria.
He noted that Nigeria has been negatively affected as a result of this ugly situation. “Those corrosive effect of these economic crimes affects, not just Nigeria, but international communities. Although we may not experience acutely or as personally, some of the consequences of these economic crimes on tax evasion, siphoning of money, splitting of contracts by corrupt government officials, the negative effect of these menace indirectly generate negative impacts on economy which leads to so much poverty, unemployment and threats to our national security”, he said.
He however envisaged that President Muhammadu Buhari would reverse this trend since he has said he was determined to fight against cybercrimesin his administration, while calling on him to strengthen anti-graft agencies as well as making optimum use of the recent amended criminal justice law to prosecute offenders no matter whose ox is gored.
In a valedictory session held in honour of the coalition, he commended them for the support which the Committee has enjoyed in the last four years without which they would not have achieve this much.
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