Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) Weekly Subject Experts’ Presentation was held at Hall C, TY Buratai Block, and Abuja. There was one presentation made by the Subject Experts Republic of China.
The first presentation of the day was made by Maj Gen JA Orokpo (Rtd) subject experts on China. His presentation focuses on China launches investigation into Apple iphone maker Foxconn. Chinese tax authorities on Monday 23 Oct 23 launched multiple investigations into the company that makes the iphone, months after its billionaire founder Terry Gou announced he would run in Taiwan’s presidential elections. Foxconn is one of the largest employers in China, with hundreds of thousands of workers. They are involved in assembly, quality control, and other manufacturing processes. The company has made significant investments in R&D in China, particularly in areas like Artificial Intelligence (AI), 5G Technology and semi-conductor manufacturing. The South China morning post reported that China has vowed to pull no punches when it comes to cracking down on tax evasion and further stated that Beijing will severely punish all kinds of tax evasion and show no forgiveness. Multinational corporations in China that are involved in tax evsion face reputational damage, which can affect their relationship with customers, investors, and business partners.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Maj Gen JA Orokpo (Rtd) noted that, Tax evasion by foreign Multinationals can strain diplomatic relations with other countries. Nigeria may face pressure from other nations or internal organizations to address tax evasion, which can impact foreign policy and security cooperation. Nigeria addressing issues of tax evasion by multinational companies requires a multipronged approach that includes reducing corruption and creating tax system that is efficient to the citizens.
Also, he recommended that federal government of Nigeria should promote government integrity and reduce corruption within tax authorities and the MDA’s and EFCC, ICPC to enforce penalties and legal consequences for multinational companies found to be evading taxes, including fines and possible suspension of business activities in Nigeria and the FIRS to invest in technology and data analytics to improve tax monitoring and auditing capacities.
