The N2.59 trillion Tax Credit Scheme introduced by the previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021 was criticized yesterday by the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zaccheus Adedeji.
He therefore Urged FG to discontinue the scheme.
The scheme was meant for road construction across the country.
He mentioned this statement while the administrators of the Tax Credit Scheme, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), provided specific information about the $3.3 billion loan obtained for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stabilize the Naira in the foreign exchange market.
The Chairman of FIRS expressed concern regarding the introduction of the N2.59 trillion Tax Credit Scheme through Executive Order 7 of 2021 under the leadership of Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
During his appearance before the Senate Committee on Finance, he took the opportunity to speak, accompanied by the Chief Financial Officer of NNPCL, Umoru Ajiya.
The Committee, led by Senator Sani Musa, extended an invitation to the FIRS and the NNPCL management to provide further clarification on the implementation of the scheme, particularly with regards to the deplorable condition of the Federal Roads across the nation.
When requested to address the initiative, the head of FIRS expressed strong disapproval, describing it as illegal.
He said, “The Mandate of FIRS lumped with execution of Tax Credit Schene for road construction , is to access , collect tax and remit it into the federation account and not to appropriate it for any purose through executive order.
“It is not the duty of FIRS and NNPCL to be paying contractors.
“The Ministry of Works should be in line with its core mandate , be allowed to award road contracts and pay for them.
“The scheme to many people, serves as a faster way for road reconstruction or rehabilitation across the country , but we should stop increasing speed towards wrong direction.
“As a way of stopping the wrong approach, FIRS and the Central Bank of Nigeria are holding meeting with the Ministry of Works Friday this week.
“At the meeting, we are going to take stock of what had been done through the scheme and thereafter we will toe the right path.
“We should in a nutshell, not continue in the wrong trajectory” he said.
