In a bid to tackle its huge foreign indebtedness and raise funds, Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (Council of Ministers) is proposing an amendment to the National Identity Management Commission Act No. 23, 2007 to allow for foreigners living in Nigeria to be issued the National Identification Number.
The Council on Wednesday proposed the Economy Stabilisation Bill to pave the way for the taxing of foreigners living and working in Nigeria.
The two proposed legislation are aimed to “expand the scope of registrable persons to include foreign individuals with the taxable presence or taxable source of income in Nigeria, and make provisions for the mandatory use of National Identification Number for transactions which are relevant for tax administration, and for related matters.”
The government proposes a new paragraph to Section 16, which reads, “Any person, whether or not he is a citizen of Nigeria, who is deemed to be resident or otherwise subject to tax in Nigeria under any legislation in force in Nigeria.”
If passed into law, the new bill would see expatriates and income-earning immigrants being taxed.
Briefing journalists after the Council’s meeting, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, explained that, “If the National Assembly passes that bill, it provides that everybody living in Nigeria, including foreigners, will now be registered and given NIN.
“Once you are doing some work here and earning income, you will be registered and given an NIN so that you can be taxed.
“Your NIN will give you your tax identity, and you can also be taxed and come under our tax structure. The law that set up the NIMC initially precludes foreigners from being registered.”
GIK/APA