Nigeria and other African countries lose $60 billion annually to illicit financial flows, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC has said.
The congress added that two-thirds of that amount is lost to manipulation of commercial transactions rather than criminal activities or corruption.
NLC President,Comrade Ayuba Wabba urged the Federal Government and other African countries, through the African Union (AU), to end all illicit financial flows from the country and the continent.
Its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, urged President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders on the continent to act decisively on issues of tax.
He said “We believe that rather than lament, we will continue to work with our governments to explore and exploit imaginative ways and means to overcome these limitations holding us back from attaining our share of prosperity.We demand that Nigerian government act decisively on and around issues of tax justice, while also calling on her African sister governments to do same.”
He reminded President Buhari that last year, the African Union High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows convened by the AU Finance Ministers, and chaired by South Africa former President, Thabo Mbeki, had a comprehensive report on how revenue is leaving Africa illicitly.
“The report has established that up to $60 billion is lost to Africa every year, and two-thirds of that amount is lost due to manipulation of commercial transactions rather than criminal activities or corruption,” Wabba said.
He pointed out that tax evasion and avoidance, such as using tax havens to shelter profits that would otherwise be taxed by African countries, are costing the continent up to $39 billion yearly.
He also urged the government to pursue the creation and sustainability of a progressive tax base as a way of mobilising domestic resources. Wabba said this should include mass creation of jobs that will provide the opportunity for the expansion of the tax base.
