President Buhari has signed a new Executive Order (EO) which according to the presidency, is aimed at fighting corruption and put looters in check.
The EO is known as the Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularization Scheme (VOARS). The order is aimed at mandating every Nigerian tax payer having offshore properties to voluntarily declare such assets voluntarily with a grace period of 12 months to do so.
The order also empowers the office of the Attorney Generalof The country to establish what will be known as “VOARS” office in Switzerland to aid the effective implementation of the order.
The details of the order reads;
“I have signed a new Executive Order (EO 008), the Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularization Scheme (VOARS), mandating Nigerian taxpayers who hold offshore assets and incomes to, within a period of 12 months, voluntarily declare those assets and pay taxes on them”.
“We are stepping up the fight against corruption, targeting money laundering and tax evasion. The new Executive Order takes effect from Monday, October 8, 2018”.
“The Office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice has been mandated to set up a VOARS in Switzerland for all categories of taxpayers who have defaulted in the declaration of offshore assets and payment of due taxes”.
“Defaulting taxpayers who fail to take advantage of VOARS will, at the expiration of the scheme, be subject to investigation and enforcement procedures. With the Automatic Exchange of Information between Nigeria and foreign countries, there will be no hiding place for anyone”.
