September 10, 2019

Tunisian police arrested presidential candidate Nabil Karoui on Friday on what local media said were charges of financial crimes, but his party said it was a politically motivated attempt to exclude him from the election race. Karoui’s own Nessma TV channel reported he had been arrested as he traveled to Tunis and broadcast a video showing the police detaining him in his car. The 56-year-old media magnate is one of the main candidates contesting the Sept 15 election following the death of President Beji Caid Essebsi. A judge ordered the detention of Karoui to face charges of tax evasion and money laundering, Mosaique FM radio reported. Judicial authorities were not immediately available for comment. A judge decided in July this year to bar Karoui from traveling abroad after weeks of investigation on suspicion of money laundering. “The police arrested Karoui while we were on our way back from the city of Beja to Tunis,” said Osama Khelifi, a political adviser to the candidate. “They kidnapped the most prominent candidate in the presidential election so that (Prime Minister Youssef) Chahed can win the election in an open way,” he added. Samira Chaouachi, spokeswoman of Karoui’s Heart of Tunisia Party, said it was “a political arrest aimed at keeping Karoui out of the presidential race”. The prime minister’s office was not available for comment. Chahed and Karoui are among 26 candidates running for the presidency following Essebsi’s death last month aged 92. Esebsi was the first head of state to be democratically elected in Tunisia following the popular uprising of 2011. Other candidates include former president Moncef Marzouki and Abd El Fatteh Mourou vice president of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party. Tunisia’s president controls foreign and defense policy, governing alongside a prime minister chosen by parliament who has authority over domestic affairs. Karoui founded the Khalil Tounes Foundation in 2017 to fight poverty, the main theme in his campaign. Nesma channel promotes his candidacy and career. In April, police stormed the offices of Nesma and took it off the air over accusations that it had breached broadcasting rules. Nesma said it was a move to stop it criticizing the government.   Source: African Quarter

Upon its inception, Bitcoin was envisioned as a borderless currency that could be used by its owners without being affected by the regulatory impositions of any centralized agency or government body. And while this idea in itself is quite grand, the fact of the matter is that today’s crypto owners (across the globe) are subject to varying tax restrictions on their digital holdings by local regulatory bodies. Also, over the course of the past few months, a number of tax agencies around the globe, (such as the United States Internal Revenue Service) have been in the process of creating new guidance frameworks for overseeing their respective crypto industries. For example, Japanese tax authorities have been sifting through data obtained from various local exchanges so as to nab evaders and cheats, while the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is currently operating a number of investigations regarding tax-avoidance ploys that involve large volumes of digital currencies. These developments clearly point to the fact that crypto is a matter of concern for a number of tax departments around the world — primarily because they provide people with an avenue for commerce that expands beyond today’s existing financial systems. So, here are  some crypto-centric economic frameworks that are being used by countries across the globe.   Source: Sleekarena

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been mocked by the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) for being indicted by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, as a tax defaulter. Obasanjo Farms Nigeria Limited, a company owned by the former President was among the 19,000 tax defaulters recently listed by the FIRS. Through a statement issued by the Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, BMO said it was shocking that someone who prides himself as the father of modern Nigeria was a tax defaulter. The group told him that not only should he write open letters to Buhari on how to govern the nation, he should also pay his taxes when due. The statement by the BMO reads; It is a big surprise that a company owned by a former President who sees himself as the father of modern Nigeria is on a list of companies that have run afoul of the nations tax laws. We also consider it a thing of shame for General Obasanjo not to pay taxes as at when due, especially as he is known to pontificate either at public fora or through open letters against societal ills, aside from launching scathing attacks against all sitting Presidents after him. We do not see why he should stop writing letters or speaking out against societal ills, but it would be hypocritical for him not to pay his companys taxes as at when due. So, our message to former President Obasanjo is: Keep writing open letters to Nigerians but do not forget to pay your taxes, the BMO said.   Source: Xtreme news