Nigeria has lost over $1trillion due to tax evasion by multinational companies over a period of time, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has disclosed.
The minister made the disclosure yesterday while briefing State House correspondents in Abuja after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr. Mohammed said the FEC approved a memo for a Multi-lateral Competence Agreement (MCA) and the Exchange of Country by Country Report (ECCR) in order to give the government a better grip on its tax laws and prevent any further tax evasion by multinational companies.
He stressed that apart from shoring up Nigeria’s finances, the move is also part of the Buhari administration’s fight against corruption and enhances transparency.
He said: “Where multinational companies operate, it’s quite easy for them to move profit from one territory to another territory where the tax law is very favourable to them. And what has happened over the years is that the revenue companies have lost a lot of money. As at the last count, over $1 trillion has been lost over a period of time. And the revenue companies have found that they were losing more money in terms of tax evasion and avoidance than what they were even receiving as grants from multinational agencies”.
Speaking in the same vein, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola said the MCA was in line with the government’s macro-economic policy to fund its operations and economy with more tax income.
