Home News Tinubu’s Govt Now Ready To Track Tax Evaders With Phone Records, Others

Tinubu’s Govt Now Ready To Track Tax Evaders With Phone Records, Others

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu...
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu...

Fending off accusations of targeting the poor, the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government has unveiled a sweeping plan to utilise a central database compiling information from phones, bank accounts, travel records, and business registrations  to identify and tax Nigerians currently skirting their obligations.

Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele,  outlined the strategy  during the National Summit of Fiscal Responsibility in Abuja on Friday.

According to Oyedele, the  centralised database will  leverage the National Identification Number (NIN) for individuals and Business Registration Numbers for companies.

This system, he said, will cross-reference information such as phone spending habits, bank account balances, and travel records to identify potential tax discrepancies.

Oyedele explained: “The system will identify an individual who spends N4m on groceries annually across multiple bank accounts but reports only N20,000 in income. This inconsistency will trigger a reconciliation process.”

He emphasised the  system would  not rely solely on individual reports but  utiliss “third-party information” to verify income streams.

“When you import 1,000 mobile phones, the government is aware,” he said. “This information will be linked to your business records, ensuring a complete picture of your transactions.”

The  plan  also introduces  VAT fiscalisation, a system that automatically transmits a copy of every sales invoice to the government.

“If you refuse to use the official invoice system,” Oyedele warned, “the discrepancy between reported sales and issued invoices will expose unreported income.”

Oyedele  also offered an insight into the Committee’s strategy to secure political endorsement for the reforms.

He revealed that the committee developed a narrative that  appealed to politicians’  reelection priorities.

“We highlighted the exemption increase for low-income earners as a policy protecting the poor,” he said. “This messaging resonated with politicians facing upcoming elections, making the reforms more attractive.”

The government’s commitment to this data-driven approach to tax collection signals a significant shift in its tax enforcement strategy. The  success of this initiative  hinges on  public  acceptance  and  effective implementation  to  broaden the tax base  and  generate  much-needed revenue  for the nation’s development.

Credit: thenationonlineng.net

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