Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has accused the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of exhibiting tendencies of tyranny in an illiterate manner by illegally asking the not-for-profit civil rights body to pay over N70m as Company Income Tax.
HURIWA decried the FIRS demand on the basis that it is a non-profit organisation that has been mandated by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to refrain from every profit-making activity.
According to Emmanuel Onwubiko, national coordinator of HURIWA,: “How can the FIRS that has no power of oversight over CSOs be seen demanding for payment of company’s Income tax from a body that the Corporate Affairs Commission directed by law not to ever engage in business or any profitable venture? This is insanity taken too far by the FIRS and our legal people will be following up soon on this madness of government rascality.”
Onwubiko also claimed the imposed company income tax is a ploy to punish HURIWA for its criticism of the FIRS in a PUNCH interview.
“The FIRS is on a vendetta and witch hunting adventure against the organisation for criticising the Federal Inland revenue services in a Punch interview in which the newspaper sought our opinion regarding its findings that the federal tax agency earmarked humongous amount in their 2021 budget as entertainment expenses to be paid for them by taxpayers,” Onwubiko said. He said FIRS exhibited crass incompetence and ignorance by seeking such outrageous tax returns from a charitable body that by the directive contained in the certificate of incorporation indicates that its registration by the Corporate Affairs Commission, HURIWA is banned from engaging in business ventures.
Onwubiko wondered how FIRS arrived at its calculations to now conclude that a Not-For-Profit like HURIWA should pay a backlog of over N70m.
He said: “How can FIRS that has no power of oversight over CSOs be demanding payment of Company’s Income Tax from a body that Corporate Affairs Commission directed by law not to ever engage in business or any profitable venture? This is insanity taken too far by FIRS and our legal people will be following up soon on this madness of government rascality.