In line with the directive of Yemi Osinbajo, acting President, a joint team from the federal ministry of finance and Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, has kick started the scheduled nationwide tax awareness campaign in Abuja.    
The acting President had declared every Thursday (starting from last week) as ‘Tax Thursday’ till the next  one year as part of efforts to carry out a nationwide sensitisation of  the general public on the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme, VAIDS, launched recently, and general tax matters, with a focus to ensure compliance.
Tunde Fowler, FIRS’s chairman, led the team of over 250 staff of government and members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, on the sensitization tour to some trade centres in Abuja yesterday.
Addressing traders at the popular Emab Plaza in the Wuse-2 area of Abuja, Fowler said, “We are here today to inform all Nigerians that it’s time we contribute to what we call the common wealth of Nigeria, asking everybody to pay their taxes so that government will have enough revenue to provide all the services that you and I can start enjoying.”
He reminded the traders from Banex and Emab Plaza that there was a tax amnesty that was already being implemented, which means that defaulters would not be charged interest and penalty for late payment till the next nine months.
Although he said the federal government attached a specific amount to the new tax drive, Fowler said, “Let everyone put in their little naira and kobo from the profits and the income that they’ve been generating from Nigeria. Whatever comes to it is the amount that government will utilize.”
Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, said the federal government expected to generate additional $1 billion from the new phase of revenue drive under the Scheme.
“This campaign will be ongoing. This is just the kickoff to bring awareness to all of us that it’s time we contribute to make sure that we have the Nigeria of our dreams,” Fowler told Nigerians at Ceddi Place also in Nigeria’s federal capital territory.
He ruled out multiple-taxation in the new tax system, saying, “People will only pay tax on income and on profit, and multiple-taxation will not be an issue.”