Austerity Measures: Private Jet Owners Who May Pay More Tax

s the price of crude oil continues to drop globally and Nigeria's oil-based economy threatened, the Federal Government, through the Minister of Finance and the Co-coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has announced measures to cushion its impact on the economy.

One of the measures will see private jet owners paying more tax on their jets as one of the luxury goods and services affected by the austerity measures.

With the latest development, aviation stakeholders are wondering the shape the tax will take, as government has not made known the details.

The private jet owners are made up of politicians, businessmen and clergymen.

Presently, many private jets owned by Nigerian billionaires fly in and out of Nigerian airspace with ease and they are some of the most expensive and the best jets in the market.

Some of the private jets in the Nigerian airspace include Bombardier Challenger 604, 605, Hawker Siddley 125-800 and 900XP, Gulfstream 450, 550 and 650, Global Express, Embracer Legacy and Falcons among others.

Aside the fact that there are about 150 private jets in Nigeria, stakeholders in the industry have predicted that the number of private jet owners is bound to rise, as it is now a status symbol among the rich and powerful.

Be that as it may, investigation revealed that 75 per cent of these jets flying in the Nigerian airspace carry foreign registration numbers, a situation that has made it impossible for the regulatory agency, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), to regulate their activities.

Today, you find most of the jets with registration numbers from countries like U.S., South Africa, Brazil, Canada and Kenya instead of the Nigerian call sign 5N; and besides, 80 per cent of the pilots of these luxury jets are foreigners.

In 2012 a report showed that the race to acquire private jets increased by 650 per cent between 2007 and 2012 in Nigeria and that as at 2007, there were about 20 private jets in the country but today, there are about 150 private jets, making Nigeria one of the fastest growing private jets markets in the globe.

As a result, private jet manufacturers, such as Bombardier and Hawker Beechcraft Corporation are now smiling to the banks, as they have found a ready market in Nigeria for their products.

Be that as it may, it is often difficult to officially find out who the owners of the luxury private jets scattered around Nigerian airports especially the Nnamdi Azikwe Airport (NAA), Abuja and the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, are.

The reason, according to a source close to the regulatory body, is because most of the purported owners of the private jets don't have their names on any document in the regulator's custody indicating that the people being speculated are the owners of jet A or B.

The source added that most of the private jets were bought and being managed in the names of established scheduled airline operators, charter airlines with Air Operator's Certificates (AOCs).

This situation, many believe might work against government's plan to tax the owners.

However, investigation by Saturday Independent revealed that about 10 notable Nigerians including the Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and Chairman of Globacom, Chief Mike Adenuga, lead the pack of Nigerians with private jets.

Others are the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye; Founder and Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church World Wide, Bishop David Oyedepo; the Chairman of Arik Air, Sir. Joseph Arumemi-Johnson; the Chairman of Energy Group, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim; the Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, Pastor Sam Adeyemi; the Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas Industries, Ifeanyi Ubah; President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, and Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Chibok Amaechi.

Dangote

A source told Saturday Independent that Dangote has two private jets but that the Canadian made Bombardier Global Express XRS with a Rolls Royce engine was bought for $45 million in 2010.

According to the source, the jet is an eight-passenger aircraft with foreign registration number N104DA.

Oyedepo is said to have three private jets, one of which is a Gulfstream G550 valued at about $55 million as at the time it was bought

Adenuga

As for communications giant, Adenuga, our source said he has two private jets in his fleet, one of which is a Dassault Falcons 7X, which cost about $51million and can carry up to 16 passengers. The other is a Bombardier Challenger 604, which is worth $30 million but our source could not confirm the year they were bought.

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