James Emejo in Abuja
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has certified corporate organisations’ donations to former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun’s charity as tax deductible.
Deductible for taxes implies an expense that a taxpayer or business can subtract from adjusted gross income, which reduces their income, thereby reducing the overall tax they need to pay.
The FIRS consequently issued a tax-deductible donations certificate to Adeosun’s DashMe Foundation, last week in Abuja.
The foundation, a Lagos-based charity with operations in Nigeria, the United States, and the United Kingdom was founded by the former minister in June 2021.
The FIRS issues tax-deductible donation certificates to carefully vetted registered charities whose operations meet Nigeria’s statutory ‘public character’ requirements. Section 25(c) of the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA) permits companies that make charitable donations to charities with tax-deductible donations certificates to a ‘donation relief’.
The donation relief provision aims at encouraging corporate bodies in Nigeria to channel their corporate social responsibilities (CSR) donations to carefully-vetted non-governmental bodies, associations, and institutions engaged in life-changing, socially-relevant projects.
However, the foundation, in a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday said corporate organisations that donate to it would now enjoy donation relief under its new status, which is an allowance to deduct their donations from their taxable profits.
Adeosun expressed delight at the FIRS’s tax-deductible donations certificate to her charity.
Reacting to the development, she noted that the issuance of the certificate by the country’s foremost tax body was a recognition of the charity’s strides in the past year and its commitment to changing the lives of vulnerable Nigerians.
She said the foundation was recently granted a similar certificate in the United States, adding that the approval would energise the charity’s drive to obtain the same tax-exempt status in the UK.
Adeosun said, “I am delighted that the FIRS has recognized DashMe Foundation as being worthy of this rare status. We believe that more corporate bodies will be incentivised to donate to us now that they know that their donations will be fully tax deductible.
“The certificate will significantly enhance our capacity to raise more funds from the corporate sector and also enhance our ability to initiate more life-changing projects for Nigeria’s most vulnerable children, women and other disempowered groups.”
The interim Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Tomisin Akinwunmi, also expressed excitement over the funding possibilities that the charity’s new status offers.
She said, “We are thrilled by this development. Our projects are making a huge difference in the lives of people and this certification will encourage us and our partners to do more.
“We are thankful to the FIRS for providing us with an opportunity to raise funds at a scale that would enhance our ability to reach more Nigerians.”
According to her, the “Foundation had raised over N200 million in the past year, through its thrift shops, corporate donations drives and snacks business as well as undertaken projects in Borno, Cross River, Imo, Kano, Lagos Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, and Osun States.”
She added that the foundation planned to extend its operations to all parts of the country by the end of 2023.
Its current projects include orphanage building projects in Imo and Ogun states, sponsorship of orphans in universities, provision of prosthetic limbs and start-up capital for amputees, as well as regular food donations to several orphanages and IDP camps.
