Ifeanyi Onuba, Abuja
The Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Matters, Mrs. Abike
Dabiri-Erewa, on Tuesday said between January and now, over $35bn had
been remitted to the country by Nigerians living abroad.
Dabiri-Erewa disclosed this when she
visited the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service,
Mr. Babatunde Fowler, and the management team of the FIRS in Abuja.
She said the amount so far remitted to
the country by Nigerians living abroad this year exceeded the $21bn sent
home by them last year.
The $35bn remittance, according to her, is the highest so far recorded in Africa this year and the third highest in the world.
“In 2016, they (Nigerians living abroad)
remitted $35bn, which is higher than what was remitted in 2015. This is
the highest in Africa and the third largest in the world,” she stated.
Dabiri-Erewa drew the attention of the
FIRS management to tax concerns raised by Nigerians living abroad,
adding that this might frustrate the objective of the government in
encouraging them to invest back home.
She said, “There is a lot of talk about
your organisation from Nigerians in the Diaspora concerning taxes;
whether there will be tax incentives for Nigerians coming back home to
engage in agriculture and other businesses.
“Recently, they expressed concern over
reports that we need to pay tax on our passports. There should be
collaboration between both offices to disseminate information in case
they have questions or want answers.”
Responding, Fowler said the agency had
not imposed any fresh tax on the collection of passports, adding that
what was required from any adult applying for passport was evidence of
tax compliance.
He said, “What we are saying is if you
want any immigration services, either you want to renew your passport or
get a new one, so long as you’re an adult and you’re making an income,
you just have to show evidence of tax payment.
“There is no direct tax on passports,
it’s just to show evidence of paying tax; and of course, you’re entitled
to all the services of government.”
The FIRS boss explained that there were a
lot of tax incentives for Nigerians abroad to take advantage of when
investing in the country.
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