April 15, 2019

Summary Section 41 of the Personal Income Tax (PIT) Act mandates all persons who are taxable under the PIT Act to file a return of income and claims for every tax year with the tax authority of the state in which the taxable person is deemed to be resident. This return is expected to be filed within 90 days from the commencement of every year of tax assessment (i.e, January). Thus, the deadline for filing this return for 2018 year of assessment is 31 March 2019. Details Some of the key provisions of the PIT Act with respect to filing of annual returns of income and claim under Section 41 are as follows: Taxpayers who earn more than ₦30,000 in a year are required to file their annual return of income and claims by 31 March without any form of notice or demand by the tax authority; A taxpayer is required to file, along with the return, a true and correct statement of the amount of income from every source (i.e. earned and unearned income) computed in accordance with the provisions of the PIT Act and the associated regulations; The form of return is expected to contain a declaration which is to be made by or on behalf of the taxpayer that the particulars given in the return are true and complete; The state tax authority is empowered to institute proceedings or impose penalties of an amount equal to the income tax chargeable on persons who fail to comply with the requirements of a notice given by the relevant tax authority under the provisions of Section 41 of the PIT Act. It is important to note that the requirement for employers to file returns of emoluments paid to their employees under Section 81 is different from the requirements under Section 41. Hence, taxpayers who have not complied with the provisions of Section 41 by themselves or through their employers should do so before the expiration of the deadline. Implications As the government at all levels continues the drive for increased revenue from taxes, it is incumbent on all taxpayers to comply with the provisions of the tax laws in order to avoid undue exposures to non-compliance penalties. It is important for taxpayers to note that in addition to a penalty of an amount equal to their income tax chargeable, taxpayers may also experience difficulties in claiming reliefs and allowances in the event of failure to file returns under Section 41 of the PIT Act. Thus, taxable persons who earn ₦30,000 or more in a year should engage their tax consultants and file the required returns on or before 31 March 2019.   Source: Mondaq

It’s a consensus among many people that for you to be a business coach, you at least should  have experience running a business, so you understand the challenges of doing business and not just provide advice based on theories. He is a co-founder and a director at Roedl & Partner (West Africa), “a provider of Audit, Tax, BPO, Legal, Advisory and Accounting services to ambitious organizations.” He also runs Agriko, “a supplier of fruits, vegetables, grains and beverages to the retail, industrial, and foodservice markets.” As entrepreneurship and business leadership could be a very challenging process, there is always a need to have access to quality business advisory, mentorship and coaching in order to make a success from the entrepreneurial journey. Unfortunately, the costs of such premium services are out of the reach of most small business owners in Nigeria and even in the entire African continent. Hence, there is a need for experienced entrepreneurs and business leaders with diversified experiences to provide mentorship and coaching to small business owners. Wole Oluyemi is one of such individuals who recognised this need and developed different platforms to provide support for SMEs and entrepreneurship drive. Wole describes himself a marketplace evangelist, chartered accountant, business coach and public speaker on business management and leadership, finance, market entry strategy, business growth strategy and corporate political strategy. He has about two decades’ experience from Arthur Andersen, KPMG and Chevron where he had diversified experience spanning across Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa, Congo, Angola and the USA. He is gradually becoming a sought after thought leader by forward-looking professionals, business leaders and entrepreneurs, especially due to his growing presence across the various social media platforms.  Wole’s 64k followers strong Instagram page provides business support for SMEs. In 2009, Wole was nominated in The Future Awards Africa (TFAA) Prize for Professional of the Year.  Wole is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN). He is an alumnus of the Obafemi Awolowo University and the Lagos Business School. He is a doctoral researcher (DBA) at Cranfield University (UK) focusing on corporate political strategy. Wole is working tirelessly to build the capability and visibility of ambitious and forward-looking small and medium-sized African businesses and we’re rooting for him.   Source: Bellanaija