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President Muhammadu Buhari has call on all Nigerians to be alive to their tax obligations.
“This government is strategically restructuring the tax revenue mix in favour of indirect taxes in accordance with our national tax policy document.
“To this end, FIRS is mandated to do all that is required in order to efficiently collect tax revenue due from transactions carried out using local and foreign online platforms.
“The government has made a relevant statutory amendment to tax laws in the Finance Act 2020,” he said.
The President also ordered all government agencies to automate operations and ensure more synergy in advancing the interest of the nation in revenue generation.
He said: “It is not enough that our citizens and local businesses pay their fair share of taxes. Equally, foreign businesses must also not be allowed to continue to exploit our markets and economy without paying appropriate taxes.
“Accordingly, the FIRS has my mandate to speedily put all measures in place to fully implement programmes to stamp out Base Erosion and Profit Shifting in all their ramifications and generally automate its tax processes.
“In line with this, I have directed all government agencies and business enterprises to grant FIRS access to their systems for a seamless connection.
“FIRS must ensure that its deployment of technology for automation is done in line with international best practices.
“In particular, FIRS can borrow a leaf from other countries which have successfully automated their tax processes.”
President Buhari said necessary amendments had been made to the FIRS Establishment Act in the Finance Act 2020 in order to provide the legislative framework for the adoption of technology in tax administration.
Minister of Finance, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, said the government will improve its template for tax collection, especially in the face of dwindling revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic, describing 2021 as a year of recovery for the economy.
She noted that emphasis on tax collection will be shifted from income to spending and all multinational corporations in the country will be required to fully comply with new directives.
The FIRS Chairman, Muhammad Mamman Nami, for a comprehensive tax payment culture.
He underscored the importance of the dialogue, saying: “The universal collapse of traditional government revenue sources and the consequential resort to tax is a testimony. “
Nami stressed that the FIRS would match on to digitalise the tax process fully and called for support.
His words: “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 a 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 the deployment of technology in tax administration.”
