Nigeria: Borno govt moves to seize UN property over tax avoidance

The Borno State Government of Nigeria has said that it would start confiscating seven properties that belong to the United Nations (UN) agencies which are domiciled in the state over tax evasion.

The Executive Chairman Borno State Board of Internal Revenue Service (BO-IRS), Mohammed Alkali revealed this while briefing newsmen in Maiduguri on Wednesday.

The properties to be seized are 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) with operations offices in Maiduguri.

“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 day’s 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,” Alkali said.