– Some of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministers are reportedly tax evaders
– The ministers serving in the Buhari administration gave the impression that they are men of impeccable character
Despite the impression made by some of the ministers serving in the President Muhammadu Buhari administration as men of impeccable character, there are indications that a good number of them may be irresponsible in the area of payment of taxes, a Ripples investigation reports.
The annual tax paid by one of the ministers in charge of telecoms when he appeared before the Senate for clearance last year was N5,000.
The minister when confronted about this over the weekend, declared almost rather uncertainly that his tax payment must have been up to N25,000. He said: “N5,000? I think I must have paid up to N25,000 tax.”
In documents presented to the Senate and security agencies by the minister himself shortly before the pre-appointment screening exercise last year, he had an Oyo State Government Revenue receipt with number 4014086367 as evidence of tax payment. The receipt showed that he paid N5,000 at a commercial bank in Agodi, Ibadan on 27th March, 2014.
The tax profile of the minister in charge of external affairs is also not so impressive, as his Income Tax Clearance Certificate issued by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on December 31st 2015 indicates that he earned N59,754, 551 and paid N50,000 tax in 2014.
The wellness minister’s tax clearance certificate obtained from the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue indicates that for 2012, 2013 and 2014, the minister earned a total of N473,750, N1,158,334 and N1,166,666 respectively while his taxes for the corresponding years were N72,000, N73,000 and N74,000.
Dr Ibe Kachikwu, the minister of state for petroleum, who should rank as one of Nigeria’s top income tax payers has an official document from Exxon Mobil detailing his tax remittance for 2012, 2013 and 2014 which shows an income of N93.1 million, N137.3 million and N105.7 million.
Kachikwu, who was vice chairman/executive director before retiring on August 4, 2015, paid taxes of N14.5 million, N22.3 million and N15.9 million.
The tax records of all the women in Buhari’s cabinet are equally impressive as they all paid their taxes promptly unlike many of their male counterparts who rushed to get tax clearance certificates on the same date December 31, 2014.
Among the tax compliant women ministers is the minister of state for industry, trade and investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar. She had an FIRS tax clearance indicating that on incomes of N3,429,880, N3,622,100 and N4,415,624 received in 2012, 2013 and 2014, she paid N420,654, N420,000 and N552,279 as annual taxes respectively.
SOURCE: Naij.com news
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