Federal government moves to stop double taxation, evasion

The Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday approved a bilateral agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of physical evasion of taxes on income and capital benefits between Nigeria and Singapore.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun disclosed to State House Correspondents, after the FEC meeting presided over by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa.

She stated that the objective of the agreement is to facilitate more trade between Nigeria and Singapore by ensuring that nationals or enterprises from either country are not taxed twice on income or profits derived from each of the two countries.

Adeosun explained that it would encourage more direct foreign investments into Nigeria, allow investors to know what their tax obligations will be and ensure sustainable tax regime for each country.

“The basis for which we choose sign this agreement with Singapore ‎is that Singapore is a major trading partner with Nigeria. They buy oil from us. Petroleum export to Singapore for the last five years is about $264bn and we import about N311bn worth of goods from them. It is a major trading partner and we needed to have this bilateral agreement.

“Is basically to ensure companies are not tax twice but it also ensure companies cannot evade tax when trading between the two countries,” she said.

The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who also spoke at the briefing, said the council approved ‎bilateral air service agreement with the State of Qatar, Singapore and Nigeria, noting that Singapore was becoming the most efficient and the biggest hub around the far Eastern part of the globe, serving New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China, Singapore and Indonesia among others.

“We thought that in our efforts to also create a hub within Nigeria‎, the centre Africa we will leverage on the opportunity to create air services between the two countries and Qatar being in the middle east with robust aviation and strong carrier with ability to move goods and services in a very efficient and fast manner and also high value commodities by air, we saw the need to sign some agreement so that it will be defined how we are going to do businesses between Nigeria, Qatar and Singapore.

“The President had approved that air services agreement be signed and now FEC has rectified and approved what was signed as a document ‎and is now on its way to National Assembly for rectification,” he said.