NITDA lists skills shortage, early stage funding as limitations to digitalisation

The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, has listed limited infrastructure, skill shortage, limited market access and early-stage funding as challenges facing the growth of digitalisation in the nation.

Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami, represented by Group Lead, General Tax Operations Group, FIRS, Abba Kabiru, said that they have leveraged on the amended Section 25 of the Finance Act 2020 to deploy technology for taxpayers’ compliance and reduce the cost of compliance on the part of the taxpayers.
  
He stated that the FIRS also created the Intelligence and Strategic Data Mining Department (ISDMD), which has helped in ensuring the body has access to more data on existing and non-complying entities and individuals.
 
“These categories of taxpayers which had previously been under the radar have been brought into the tax net and made to comply with their tax obligations, which has translated into improved revenue collection,” Kabiru said.
   
He said that it is imperative for institutions such as the FIRS and NITDA, to undertake activities such as these interactive sessions, which seek to engage stakeholders and report back to them on how taxpayers’ monies have been expended.