Tax payers to receive certificates within one week

Stakeholders advocate improved tax management
Federal Inland Revenue Services, FIRS, government’s tax collector, has announced that effective December 1, 2016, all withholding tax certificates would be emailed directly to tax payers within one week of payment.

Tax is a charge or levy imposed on individuals or organisations used to fund various public expenditures, for which non-payment, evasion, or resistance is usually punishable by law.

The Executive Chairman FIRS, Babatunde Fowler, stated this at KPMG Tax Breakfast meeting held in Lagos at the weekend.

Besides, stakeholders in the industry urged FIRS, which prescribes accruable tax based on income or earnings, to improve the nation’s tax administration management by introducing measures and adequate policy framework that would boost effective compliance.

Fowler stressed the need for all tax payers to leverage the special window provided to ensure compliance, noting that FIRS would deploy all legal means at its disposal, including criminal prosecution of board and management to penalise defaulting organisations.

He noted that a waiver granted to payers, who do not owe personal property taxes in the financial year, relate only to accumulated penalty and interest and not the principal tax due.

“Based on this waiver, part payment/full payment of undisputed tax liabilities should be paid, while the balance can be paid in instalment. While a reasonable amount of not less than 25 per cent should be paid on account.”

As part of measures to make filing of tax returns easier and more convenient for payers, Fowler explained that taxpayers will be required to apply in writing to the tax controller of their current tax office of choice and request for transfer of their file and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) accordingly.

The Partner and Head Tax Regulatory and People Services, KPMG, Wole Obayomi, advised FIRS to ensure that right policies are put in place to enhance effective compliance, as well as improve tax tribunal.

He noted that with the expiration of the tenure of the last tax tribunal six months ago, pending issues have remained unresolved.

He added that this has contributed to the low compliance level, as taxpayers needed to resolve some issues to enable them make up for the compliance.

“FIRS should invest more effort in the tracking of the informal sector as well. The sector can be as big as the formal sector when they are made to comply.”