FIRS set to commence audit of taxpayers nationwide – Fowler

FIRS set to commence audit of taxpayers nationwide – Fowler Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr.
Tunde Fowler, said that the Service would soon commence the audit of taxpayers across the country.
Fowler stated this yesterday in Lagos while delivering a keynote address at a stakeholders meeting on “Tax Administration and National Revenue’’.
Fowler said that the nationwide audit would ensure increased tax revenue collection, improved service delivery to taxpayers and enhanced voluntary compliance.
He called on stakeholders to support efforts at repositioning the nation’s tax administration system.
Fowler, who is also the Chairman of the Joint Tax Board (JTB), said that the board was determined to improve services to taxpayers at all levels.
According to him, a consolidated Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) data base was already in place under the JTB.
The FIRS chief said that all tax laws that were not in the interest of the taxpayers were already undergoing a review process.
He added that taxpayers and stakeholders should support tax authorities in the interest of national development.
“The greatest challenge for any tax administration is achieving and maintaining a high degree of self-assessment and voluntary compliance by taxpayers.
“Studies, however, show that the extent to which an economy is able to grow sustainably and develop depends to a large extent on its ability to generate tax revenue to finance its expenditure and the efficiency of its tax system.
“The questions that arise from these simple statements include how to identify areas of noncompliance; how to measure the level of non-compliance; and how to address non-compliance,’’ Fowler said.
The tax expert explained that FIRS had put in place various strategies to curtail noncompliance to improve tax revenue collection on a sustainable basis.
“Well-designed taxpayer services, education programmes, and creative measures can facilitate self-assessment and compliance,’’ Fowler said.
He noted that the major determinant of tax compliance included changes in law, taxpayers’ attitudes to payment of right taxes and tax consultants’ offering the right advice to the taxpaying public.
Stakeholders at the event included officials from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Labour Unions, Tax Consultants and the Organised Private Sector across the nation.