Tax Evasion: Buhari Grants FIRS Free Access To MDAs

• Moves to improve tax collection

BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – The days of deliberate tax evasion by corporate entities in the country may be over with President Muhammadu Buhari granting he Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) freedom to access revenue systems in all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) as well as corporate business concerns.

The presidential directive is for the purposes of improved tax collection and enhanced revenue drive into government coffers nationwide.

Also, President Buhari directed the FIRS to “speedily put all measures in place to fully implement programmes to stamp out Base Erosion and Profit Shifting in all of its ramifications and generally automate its tax processes.”

Addressing participants during the FIRS-organised First Annual National Tax Dialogue at the Aso Villa Abuja, with the theme: “Taxation in a post-Covid Economy”, the President equally challenged the Service to fast-track its tax collection process digitalization.

He said; “I have directed all government agencies and business enterprises to grant FIRS access to their systems for seamless connection. We all are now living in a fast digitalising world. As such, business transactions are continually being migrated from “brick and mortar” locations to digital places or spaces.

“It is therefore incumbent upon tax authorities to adopt digital means to efficiently track taxable transactions for the purpose of collecting taxes. In order to provide the necessary legislative framework for the adoption of technology in tax administration, we also made necessary amendments to the FIRS Establishment Act in the Finance Act 2020.”

For the President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr Akinwunmi Adesina, the continental bank is ready to support FIRS in modernising tax collection processes in Nigeria through continuously capacity building.

Adesina, who delivered the Tax Dialogue’s keynote address, assured that AfDB would not relent in backing efforts aimed at positioning relevant public institutions for effective service delivery.

Also speaking at the Dialogue, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Shamusuna Ahmed, said some provisions enshrined in the Finance Act 2020 are meant to help businesses, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), recover from COVID-19 adverse effects on the nation’s economy.

Highlighting key provisions of the Act, Mrs Ahmed said tax compliance is crucial to national prosperity and government would not relent in curtailing cases of tax evasion by maximum use of technology to check leakages that occur in cross-border transactions.

The Minister said government would readily welcome contributions and ideas aimed at improving the nation’s tax system.

In his welcome remarks, Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mr Muhammad Nami, acknowledged the universal collapse of traditional government revenue sources and the consequential resort to tax, noting that; “The well-known arms race among nations is gradually giving way to “tax-race”.

According to him; “The international struggle for and against digital services tax is just the beginning of the tax race. It is a race for all nations, developed or developing. And for Nigeria, it is “a must-win” race.”

He assured that FIRS is focused on full digitalisation of the tax process and therefore sought cooperation from the three tiers of government; the citizens and corporate organisations to ensure the digitalization drive succeeds.

“The FIRS started the journey to automation several years ago when it launched ‘Project Fact’. Several other initiatives were launched to further take advantage of evolving technology in taxpayer registration, online payment platforms, remote filing of returns, etc.

“However, there was very limited success with the various initiatives due to inadequate statutory framework. A quantum leap was achieved with the 2020 Finance Act which copiously provided legal grounds for deployment of technology in tax administration.”

The FIRS boss, who expressed gratitude to President Buhari, the National Assembly, Finance Minister and all stakeholders working to enact relevant regulations, said; “The Service is taking advantage of the new law to embark on studies (with the assistance of friendly tax authorities and international tax organisations) with a view to developing a robust digitalisation roadmap.

“The roadmap will enable the Service to digitalise its whole operations (end-to-end) in a systematic, coherent and efficient manner.”

Confident the Service is eyeing better years ahead, Nami said; “The FIRS is starting this decade with the resolve to leapfrog tax administration into the digital age. Ladies and gentlemen, we are banking on your continued support as we embark on this onerous journey.”