VAT War: Let Heaven Fall, Wike Roars

Nyesom Wike has dared the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS to pull down the heavens as he Wednesday warned taxable entities in Rivers State to promptly comply with the new Value Added Tax, VAT regime in the state.

Speaking during an interactive session with stakeholders, Wike lamented that it was sickening that the state would produce a high proportion of VAT but get only a little proportion of what was generated.

 GreenWhiteGreen GWG reports that the Federal High Court had recently endorsed the new VAT regime as passed by the Rivers State House of Assembly and endorsed by the governor.

A move by FIRS to stop the immediate implementation of the law was aborted by a Federal High Court which refused a stay of execution.

Responding during the interactive session broadcast on live television, Wike said:

“People say that let heaven not fall but sometimes I believe that heaven should come down so that everybody will rest…When we do the right thing, heaven is at peace. So, the right thing must be done at all times,” he said.

Continuing, Wike said: “Rivers State is challenging FIRS from collecting VAT in Rivers State. I am not challenging FIRS from collecting VAT in Abuja. Let it be understood. But the law says Rivers must collect VAT in the state.”

“The Federal Government surreptitiously lobbied to amend the constitution to place VAT collection under the exclusive legislative list

“We have challenged it and we have no apologies to anybody.

“I don’t want to be in the good book of anybody but in the good book of God.

“You don’t bully state like us. FIRS should be very careful. I have the political will to do a lot of things. If they continue to bully us, I will take all their offices in the state,” he stated.

Affirming that the Rivers State Government will start the collection of VAT from September, 2021, Wike cautioned the oil companies and other stakeholders to ensure that they paid their VATs to the RIRS.

“I don’t want you to fall prey of the people who think they can use force to take our money.

“If you want to take advantage and say you don’t know who to pay to, it is a lie, you know.

“From this September, we will start collecting our VAT.

“We will not look back but seal up the premises of such companies,” he warned.

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