Taxpayers will be allowed to forgo payments of interest and penalties on outstanding tax debt if they pay in full on or before the end of next month, FIRS said Thursday as part of measures to cushion the effect of the novel coronavirus outbreak on individuals and businesses.
“The concerned taxpayers are to note that this concession is only valid if full payments are received on or before 31st May 2020,” the federal tax agency said in a press statement titled “Update on the Palliative Measures to Cushion the Effects of COVID-19 on Taxpayers No3”.
The statement was published on FIRS twitter handle.
The palliative is the latest from FIRS which is trying to balance the prompt collection of tax for cash-strapped FG and offer softer landings for taxpayers affected by the disruption to their businesses amid the pandemic.
Last week the FIRS chairman asked telcos, financial institutions, e-Commerce, supermarkets, manufacturers/ processors of certain products to “commence payment of their annual returns earlier than the due date apart from their normal monthly obligations” to ease cash flow constraints of the FG.
On the other hand, to reduce the burden on individuals and businesses, FIRS has announced palliative measures such as waiver of late returns penalty for taxpayers who pay their tax liabilities early but submit their tax returns later, extending the timeline for remittance of VAT from the 21st day to the last day of the month, following the month of deduction, permission for Naira settlement on foreign currency-based tax liabilities, among other measures.
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