Ministry hopes to raise $1b

ABUJA: Nigeria hopes to raise at least $1 billion from a scheme that will give tax evaders a chance to make payments retrospectively, the finance ministry said on Friday. The OPEC member, that has Africa’s largest economy, is in the second year of a recession brought on by low oil prices. Crude sales make up two-thirds of national revenue and the government is seeking to boost its income from non-oil sources. The finance ministry said a scheme would be launched on June 29, to give evaders immunity from prosecution, penalty charges and interest if they “regularise their tax status” between July 1 and December 31, 2017. It said tax evaders who delayed participation until after December 31 would be liable for interest on overdue tax balances.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2017.

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