The Federal Government collected N200 million and $55 million from the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme, VAIDS, in October this year.
Addressing a press conference in Lagos over the weekend, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, described this as positive economic indicators of the administration now focusing on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for what he said were the endless possibilities awaiting Nigerians.
Mohammed explained, ”In exchange for fully and honestly declaring previously undisclosed assets and income, taxpayers will benefit from forgiveness of overdue interest and penalties, and the assurance of not facing criminal prosecution for tax offences or tax investigations. As of October 31, 2017, VAIDS has raked in over N200 million and $55 million.”
According to him, ”As part of the administration’s efforts to improve Nigeria’s tax to GDP ratio, which currently sits at a paltry 6%, one of the lowest in the world, the administration has launched what is called the Nigerian Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme, VAIDS.
Speaking on the triumphs of the administration’s economic agenda, Mohammed said: “I am happy to inform you today that we are winning! Our well-thought-out policy, encapsulated in the Administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP, launched on April 5, 2017, is working and the results are beginning to show.
”In September, we exited recession and returned to the path of growth, after five consecutive quarters of contraction. To show that taking Nigeria out of recession was not a fluke, less than two months later, precisely October 31, 2017, Nigerians got another good news: The country has moved up 24 places to 145th in the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ report.
The minister stated, “For 8th consecutive months, headline inflation has been falling; the foreign exchange reserves are up to $34 billion, from $24 billion a year ago; oil production is at nearly 2 million barrels per day, a significant improvement from 2016 when it was mostly below a million.
”The value of the Naira in the parallel market has appreciated significantly in recent times against the US dollar, and that at about 1.8 billion dollars, the capital inflows in the second quarter of 2017 were almost double the $908 million in the first quarter.
Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investments, said in the last one year, the ease of doing business in the country has greatly improved, and mentioned Lagos and Kano as two states the secretariat was partnering, noting that challenges to business had been significantly removed in the two states.
Oduwole who is also the Secretary to the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Coordinator of the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat, (EBES) She said: ”The World Bank highlighted five reforms making it easier to do business in Kano and Lagos, the two cities covered by the report in Nigeria over the course of last year: Starting a Business; dealing with construction permits; registering property; getting credit, and paying taxes.
”In the area of company registration, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has moved to offer online registration and introduced new features such as electronic stamping of registration documents. Thus, entrepreneurs have been able to register their businesses much faster, within 24-48 hours, thereby saving cost and time
”Getting access to credit is now easier and Nigeria is placed 6thin the world on this indicator. The government recorded a significant success by collaborating with the National Assembly to pass two new Acts, the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act 2017and the Credit Reporting Act 2017, thereby strengthening the legal framework for access to credit for SMEs across the country, an important requirement for the success of SMEs.
”Finally, it has become easier to pay taxes in Nigeria because taxpayers can file tax returns at the nearest Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) office, and electronic payment and filing are gradually gaining acceptance,” she remarked.
