MR Kamil Ademola, a tax consultant and accountant, has said that tax incentives are a driving tool for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

According to him, Foreign Direct invest-ment refers to the net inflow of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise opera-tion in an economy other than that of the investor.

Kamil said foreign direct investment incentives might take low corporate and in-come tax rates, tax holidays, preferential tariffs, special econo-mic zones, investment financial subsidies, relocation and expa-triation subsidies, job training and employ-ment subsidies, infra-structure subsidies and research and development support.

He said Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria was confronted with different situa-tions arising from lack of accurate data to measure the inflow and outflow of Direct and Indirect Foreign Investment.

“While net inflow is theoretically positive on the surface, factoring in the capital flights and stashing away of raw cash obtained through corruption erodes the positives and gives us some disturbing negative inflow in FDIs,” he stated.

The tax boss said there was so much economic activities and “abracadabra” without movement or development in the country.’The technology transfer through FDI which  should be agent of economic development is not really being transferred due to corruption that has eaten deep into the system”.

He described a scenario where Engi-neers were to be brou-ght into the country rather  than techni-cians. A technician will be brought and will earn what five Nigerian would earn without contributing expected and desired value to the economy.

Kamil said we had enough incentives in place to attract Direct and Indirect Foreign Investment to the country and there were legislators in place to ensure that things were done properly and appropriately to ensure the country benefited from these investments and attendant taxes accruing to the rele-vant government agen-cies.

This is to broaden their revenue bases and enable them  deli-ver good governance to the people, but  those saddled with respon-sibilities to implement the legislations are the problem.

“Any law is as effec-tive as its implemen-tation. When those to ensure compliance are the ones conspiring with those breaking the law, then we have a long way to go” he said.