The Borno State government, Northeast Nigeria says on Wednesday that would commence the process for the confiscation of seven properties belonging to United Nations agencies in the State over alleged tax evasion.
The affected properties belong to the World Health Organisation (WHO), World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
These seven UN organisations use the buildings as their operational bases in Borno State capital, Maiduguri, for helping victims of Boko Haram/Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorism and violence.
The Executive Chairman of Borno State Board of Internal Revenue Service (BO-IRS), Mohammed Alkali, who spoke of the looming confiscation, told journalists in Maiduguri on Wednesday that “it is noteworthy that the aforementioned organisations are generally exempted from payment of tax from their operational funds.
“They are, however, mandated by law through the provisions of the personal income tax act, CAP P8 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 to remit to the state government what is known as PAYE ( Pay As You Earn) with Withholding Tax (WHT) for their staff and individuals and enterprise contractors respectively.
“But unfortunately, since January 2021, all effort to make them respond positively to the demand proved abortive, thereby forcing BO-IRS to serve them with 30 days notice of seizure of property which is due to lapse on 24th February 2022 as earlier mentioned.
“This service will thereafter trigger its enforcement powers by using legitimate means to seize the properties of the agencies involved.”
