‘Nigeria Loses Over N2trn To Tax Evasion, Cyber crimes’
The chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters, Aloysius Etok, yesterday, revealed that Nigeria has lost over N2 trillion as a result of tax evasion by capable companies and cybercrimes perpetrated by some Nigerians.
Etok made this disclosure during his address at the valedictory session of the National Assembly Anti-money Laundering and Cyber Security Coalition.
According to him, he got the figure from the various briefings of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and insisted that given the ugly development, fighting tax evasion had become a necessity and not just a choice.
He also appealed to the EFCC and ICPC to use their civil authority to strip corrupt officials of the proceeds of their conducts and “deprive them of the very profit that drives the corrupt conduct in the first place.” He maintained that it was time for action through prosecution, investigation and recovery, saying that “investigations should not be delayed in courts, especially when it involves tax evasion and corruption.”
He disclosed that fighting corruption and tax evasion was always the core priority of the coalition, saying that the committee more than ever was fighting the challenges on multiple fronts but noted that the problems seemed daunting.
“The corrosive effect of these economic crimes affects not just Nigeria but the international community. Although we may not experience it acutely or personally, some of the consequences of these economic crimes indirectly generate negative impacts on the economy which leads to so poverty, unemployment and threats to our national security,” Etok said.
“When tax evasion for instance, takes hold of the economy, it leads to unfair competition.Some capable companies are being denied the ability to compete in a fair and transparent environment.”
“Some even suffer at the hands of government officials and lose out to corrupt competitors. When public officials aremore interested in their own personal wealth than the property of the citizen they are to serve, people lose faith in political institutions.”
The senator also said operation of the free trade zone in perpetuity without payment of tax has resulted in the loss of revenue and poor infrastructure “which in most cases makes the government to become a tenant instead of a landlord.
