Tax practitioners have been urged to support the Federal Government to achieve its N10.4 trillion tax revenue target in the proposed 2024 budget by ensuring the tax revenue base is widened to bring more eligible tax payers into the system.
Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, Dr Akinde Aremu, said it had become expedient for Nigeria to look inwards by exploiting tax as a means of stabilising the economy, bridging infrastructure gap, supporting education and creating employment opportunities.
He said this at the 49th induction ceremony of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), noting that the discipline of taxation has never been more relevant at a time when the country is grappling with soaring debts, infrastructure deficits and rising costs of living, in the face of dwindling income arising from under-investment, sabotage and theft in the oil and gas sector.
Speaking on ‘Navigating the Tax Landscape: A Journey of Professional Excellence’, Aremu said the dynamic tax landscape is influenced by global economic shifts, technological advancements and evolving regulatory frameworks.
He said the plans by President Bola Tinubu-led administration to enhance tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio to 18 per cent from its current paltry 6.7 per cent, which he said is lower than the African average of the same metric(15.6 per cent). Analysing Nigerian tax to Ghana and South Africa and other developed nations like China, he said Nigeria has the lowest tax revenue.
He said Nigerian taxes are like a kindergarten learning how to run a marathon race, saying “The taxes of these countries are fast developing unlike Nigeria, where the rich hardly pay taxes but they have good infrastructural facilities by relying only on oil revenues. We have to change our attitude as taxpayers and tax professionals. They are running and leaving us behind,” he said. He challenged the newly inducted to come up with policies that would make Nigeria competitive and change the country’s tax narrative.
CITN President and Chairman of Council, Samuel Agbeluyi, said currently, Nigeria stands on the brink of a transformative era, ushered in by the technological revolution that brought with it both challenges and opportunities for taxation and economic development.
He said the digital economy has grown dramatically, with digital Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) such as Amazon, Facebook and Google having a significant presence in the global digital space.
He said despite the digital economy accounting for between 15 and 20 per cent of GDP, tax administrations in Africa, including Nigeria remain unclear on the most effective and efficient way to tax the digital economy.
According to him, the challenges arising from technological advancement and intricate business models continue to mount; thus, increasing the likelihood of tax revenue leakages.
The CITN chief said while there have been serious engagements between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the global policy forum, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to modify and consider the applicability of the two pillar solution in Nigeria.
