FG Imposes Luxury Tax Of $4,000 On Private Jet Owners

The Federal Government has imposed a luxury tax on private jet owners and operators in the country.
As a result, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has directed the owners and operators of private jets to pay the sum of $4,000 for every flight departure within the country.
According to a memo to all private jet operators and obtained by newsmen, the NCAA ordered that Nigerian-registered private jets would henceforth pay the sum of $3,000 for every departure, while foreign registered private jets would pay $4,000 per departure. The memo, dated August 28, 2013, and signed by the Director-General, NCAA, Captain Fola Akinkuotu, was titled, ‘Order charging certain fees on operations in general aviation.’
The memo is, however, generating controversy in the aviation sector, with some operators arguing that the levies are illegal and, as such, they will not pay.
But the NCAA has filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Lagos, challenging the reluctance of foreign and locally-registered aircraft operators to pay the levies.
If the move by the NCAA becomes successful, it will affect pastors, business moguls and other private jets owners in the country, who will be expected to cough out about $1.4m annually as luxury tax.