Tax Evasion: Nigeria Reportedly Lose $178 billion to Multinational in 10 Years

…FIRS Creates Tax Audit Units to Address Illicit Financial Flow

Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has lamented that the country has lost over 178 billion dollars (N5.4 trillion) through tax evasion by Multinationals doing business Nigeria between 2007 and 2017.

As a result the body has created 35 additional Tax Audit Units across the country to address illicit financial flow.

The Director of Communications and Liaison Department of the service, Abdullahi Ahmad who made this known in a statement in Abuja on Monday, explained that the decision was in a bid to stem illicit financial flow and improve tax compliance rate in the country.

The Director quoted Muhammad Nami, Executive Chairman, FIRS, as saying this at a workshop in Abuja on Monday on Effective Audit of Multinational Corporations for Domestic Revenue Mobilisation in Nigeria.

Nami observed that some multinational corporations were leading in tax compliance in various sectors.

He, however, expressed worries that many rich Multinational Corporations did not pay the right taxes due to them, let alone pay their taxes voluntarily.

He also cited a 2014 report by the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, which stated that “Nigeria accounted for 30.5 per cent of money lost by the continent through illicit financial flows.

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“At the FIRS we are paying greater attention to tax audit in general and Transfer Pricing audit in particular in order to improve the level of tax compliance in the country.

“As a result, in the last one year, we have created more than 35 additional Tax Audit Units and deployed experienced and capable staff to take charge of these offices” he explained.