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Taxation: Non-compliance by banks, MDAs worries FIRS

By BusinessNews Staff on June 13, 2014

The Federal Inland Revenue Service has said that non-compliance by banks, Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government is one of the challenges confronting tax administration in the country.

The State Monitor of Government Business Tax Office, Osogbo, Mr. Kayode Olumeyan, said this in Osogbo on Wednesday at a sensitisation workshop organised by the FIRS for its stakeholders.

Olumeyan said, “The following are some of the identified challenges the FIRS and stakeholders’ relationship is experiencing: Failure to register with relevant tax authorities by the stakeholders; failure of the MDAs and local government councils to deduct taxes from taxable transactions and non-payment of taxes deducted from contractors to the FIRS.

“Also, failure by banks to remit taxes paid through them by the MDAs and LGs and deliberate refusal of the MDAs and LGAs to submit schedules to the FIRS.”

Olumeyan, who also blamed the FIRS, said that poor and slow response from its officials to enquiries and complaints on tax remittances and epileptic working of the agency’s web portal were also challenges affecting tax administration in the country.

While pointing the way forward, he said that emphasis should be on compliance rather than penalty because the FIRS and its stakeholders were partners working for the overall development of the nation.

Olumeyan also urged civil servants saddled with the responsibility of deducting taxes to shun advices of politicians not to deduct tax on taxable transactions.

“Advice from politicians that contractors should be paid and taxes should not be paid must be ignored. Stakeholders should be made to realise that the resources being shared on a monthly basis and If everybody pays contractors and refuses to pay taxes, there will be nothing o share at the centre,” he said.

The State West Coordinator of Government Business Tax Department, Mr. Rasaq Ajose, said tax reform became necessary because Nigerians needed to begin to look at how to ensure the sustenance of the nation even if oil dried up tomorrow.

Ajose said the FIRS was working hard to place the country’s tax administration at the same level with other nations, adding that the reform had brought a lot of changes that were beneficial to the nation.

[Punch]

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