VAIDS Defaulters to Pay with Interests, Penalties – FIRS

Those who did not comply with the June 30 deadline for the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), will now pay with interests.

Chairman Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Babatunde Fowler, said this on Wednesday, adding that every required step is being taken to make defaulters brought to book.

“The VAIDS expired on June 30 and anyone who has not come forth by now, we shall use all legal means to make sure that we bring them to book and make sure that they pay the appropriate taxes with interests and penalties,” Fowler told State House Correspondent in Abuja.

“The response has been very good. We are collating all the figures, both at the federal and the states levels, and I believe that by the middle of July, we should be able to tell the nation the exact progress in terms of the numbers that have declared, amount that have been paid and amount that is going to be paid in instalments.”

He explained, “that we do not really have a situation of multiple taxation. You only have multiple taxation when you pay the same tax to different tiers of government.

“What we have found out is that a lot of people categorise any payment to government as a tax. For example, if they receive a fine, or a penalty, they call it a tax.

“If they pay for parking space, they call it a tax. Those are the things you refer to as user charges and not taxes.”