Presidential panel uncovers 1,500 properties owned by Nigerians in Dubai
Partners FIRS to recover tax revenues
By Emeka Okoroanyanwu
The Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP) is to partner with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), to recover tax revenues from companies who hitherto have been evading payment. Already the panel has uncovered about 1,500 properties of Nigerians located in Dubai and for which taxes are not being paid.
Panel Chairman, Mr Okoi Obono-Obla, made this known when he received Mr Tunde Fowler, FIRS Chairman on a visit.
READ ALSO: Insecurity: Methodist Prelate tasks FG on 2014 confab report
Obono-Obla urged the FIRS to work with the panel to recover taxes and royalties owed the Federal Government by several oil companies amounting to billions of dollars. He informed Fowler that the panel had uncovered about 1, 500 properties in Dubai, UAE, owned by Nigerians for which due taxes were not being paid to the Nigerian government.
The FIRS Chairman confirmed that both agencies had indeed been working together in the past.
Fowler said that the deployment of ICT to the FIRS operations had among other things, reinforced internal controls which also helped to reduce fraud and bottlenecks in tax administration.
