Private jet owners must pay taxes

AFTER a long wait, the Federal Government has initiated a clampdown on private jet operators suspected of engaging in sundry shenanigans. This has deprived the treasury of much-needed funds while the affluent owners relish their jet-set lifestyles. Reports indicate that the Nigeria Customs Service has summoned about 80 private jet operators to its headquarters in Abuja to present their documents. The special aircraft import verification exercise is to last 30 days. This process must be transparent and concluded within the set timeframe.

According to the NCS, the exercise aims to identify imported aircraft without the necessary documentation, ensuring proper imports and maximum revenue collection.

Documents to be presented are the aircraft Certificate of Registration, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s Flight Operation Compliance Certificate, Maintenance Compliance Certificate, Permit for Non-Commercial Flights, and Temporary Import Permit.

This is not the first time the government has descended on private jet operators. In 2021, the Customs asked aviation authorities to ground 91 aircraft suspected of not possessing proper documentation to recover an estimated N30 billion in unpaid import duties.

That did not happen as the agencies involved could not agree on what to do. The action was eventually suspended after some of the owners went to court using their offshore proxies and shell companies to challenge the appropriateness of duty payment on their aircraft.

This episode underscores the under-regulation of the aviation industry, which allows operators and some well-heeled and connected individuals to cheat the treasury.

In April, the Federal Government threatened sanctions against private jet owners who illegally use their planes for commercial purposes, including grounding the jets and revoking their licences.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, noted that such individuals obtained Permits for Non-Commercial Flights for their private jets but instead operate these aircraft for commercial flights, sometimes up to six to eight times a day.

It is appalling that jets worth millions of dollars operate in Nigeria without proper documentation when motorcycle and car owners are harassed daily and penalised for failure to obtain their documents. It is a travesty that people import aircraft and fail to pay import duties when vehicle importers are squeezed mercilessly by the Customs at the ports and even waylaid on highways for import document checks.

It highlights public perceptions that Nigeria’s laws are made for the poor.

A private jet is an ultra-luxury asset. It costs about $3.8 million to maintain a midsize Gulfstream G550 jet based on 400 flight hours a year per United States-based aviation consultants, Cocklin & De Decker. Previously owned ones cost between $13 million and $35 million. Owners should be made to bear the full costs of their choices and not freeload on the public purse by avoiding taxes and other charges associated with private jet ownership.

It is good that Customs has expressed its commitment to applying the relevant laws and regulations to ensure maximum revenue collection for the government. This should not be mere grandstanding. This behaviour associated with Nigerian private jet operators cannot be tolerated in the US, which boasts 15,000 registered private jets. It should not be tolerated here, too. Proper sanitisation of the aviation sector must include a thorough review of private jet operations to fish out cheats.

The government must not be seen as pampering billionaires notorious in Nigeria for paying a disproportionate share of taxes. They must not be allowed to violate the law and avoid payment of statutory taxes. The government must avoid giving the impression that it cannot hold billionaires to account due to political and business ties.

The authorities must ensure that things are done properly. The aircraft verification exercise presents an opportunity for the government to regain lost income and it must spare no measure, including impounding defaulting aircraft until all outstanding charges are settled.