July 31, 2019

Chairman of the Joint Tax Board (JTB), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, has stated that the Tax Identification Number (TIN) Registration System and Consolidated National Taxpayers Database introduced by the JTB will improve the efficiency and output of the entire tax administration process and provide convenience to taxpayers and tax authorities. (From Left): Mr. Tunde Fowler, Chairman, Joint Tax Board (JTB) and Federal Inland Revenue Service; Lagos State governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-olu; Sir Oseni Elamah, Executive Secretary, Joint Tax Board; and Mr. Amidele Zubair; Executive Chairman, Lagos State Inland Revenue Service at the South-west Flag-off ceremony of the new JTB Tax Identification Number Registration System in Lagos on Thursday. Fowler, who is also the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) stated this in Lagos on Thursday during the South-west Flag-off ceremony of the new system, which was launched in Abuja on 1 July. According to the JTB Chairman, the new system will ensure that taxpayers’ information are available whenever and wherever they need them. The system, said Fowler, possesses the capability to integrate with relevant agencies and leverage on already captured data, deploy analytics to discover underlying and correlating trends and patterns that could lead to increased Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for all tiers of government. These agencies, he added, include the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), “This would significantly reduce the burden of manual taxpayer information management and by extension grossly crash the cost of collection”. “The system is designed in such a manner that each taxpayer is assigned a unique and universal Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and it is now possible for any taxpayer to view, retrieve or update his/her tax profile from anywhere 24/7,” said the JTB boss. The new TIN Registration System and its consolidated database of individual and corporate taxpayers’ have been designed to form the foundation upon which the nation’s automated tax administration system is built. In his opening remarks at the event, Executive Secretary, JTB, Sir Oseni Elamah, said the new system is a web-based solution that offers access to authorized users to initiate TIN request from the comfort of their homes/offices real-time online, verify their tax status and print their TIN certificate. “It is a transparent system that assures timely and accurate collection and recording of basic identification data. “It also permits the tax administrator to understand its taxpayer base for effective revenue projections and other planning activities. “By leveraging on existing data from relevant identity management agencies, the new System reduces the burden of multiple registration of taxpayers as well as promoting the ease of doing business and paying taxes. “It also ensures seamless integration and exchange of information amongst the various tax authorities within and outside Nigeria, as well as with other authorized stakeholders via web service,” he explained. Chief host of the ceremony, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-olu, Governor of Lagos State, commended the JTB for initiating the new system, which he said will take tax administration to the next level. Also in attendance was Mr. Dapo Okubadejo, Chief Economic Adviser to the Ogun State government, who represented Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State.   Source: ameh news

Fowler made this known on Thursday during a speech at the south-west flag-off ceremony of the new Tax Identification Number (TIN) Registration System and Consolidated National Taxpayers Database. The website, which was first launched in Abuja on July 1, allows users to register and get their tax identification numbers (TIN) online. According to the JTB Chairman, the new system will ensure that taxpayers’ information is available whenever and wherever they need them. The system, said Fowler, will integrate data already captured by other relevant agencies, deploy analytics to discover underlying and correlating trends and patterns that could lead to increased internally generated revenue (IGR) for all tiers of government. He listed the agencies to include the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). “This would significantly reduce the burden of manual taxpayer information management and by extension grossly crash the cost of collection,” he said. “The system is designed in such a manner that each taxpayer is assigned a unique and universal Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and it is now possible for any taxpayer to view, retrieve or update his/her tax profile from anywhere 24/7. In his opening remarks, Oseni Elamah, executive secretary of the JTB, said the new system is a web-based solution that offers access to authorized users to initiate TIN request from the comfort of their homes/offices real-time online, verify their tax status and print their TIN certificate. “It is a transparent system that assures timely and accurate collection and recording of basic identification data,” he said. “It also permits the tax administrator to understand its taxpayer base for effective revenue projections and other planning activities. “By leveraging on existing data from relevant identity management agencies, the new system reduces the burden of multiple registrations of taxpayers as well as promoting the ease of doing business and paying taxes.”   Source: Seriousmata

An aggressive tax drive through tech-driven process will wean federating States from overdependence on federal allocations, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said. Lagos, Sanwo-Olu said, understood the challenges associated with overdependence on federal handouts early enough, prompting the State to pursue an inclusive revenue generation push to achieve financial autonomy and reduce its reliance on crude oil earnings.  The Governor spoke on Thursday when he officially flagged off the new National Taxpayers Identification Number (TIN) Registration System and Consolidated National Taxpayers Database in the Southwest region. The new TIN was introduced by Joint Tax Board (JTB) – a body headed by the Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler. Sanwo-Olu said the sustenance of Lagos’ tax collection drive in the last 20 years had helped to insulate the state from the effects of decline in revenue derived from Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), arising from the 2014 crash of global crude oil prices.  He said: “With improved tax revenues, governments of the federating states can begin to wean themselves from an overdependence on crude oil earnings. In Lagos, we very much understood the importance of this early enough. “The overwhelming success of our tax collection drive over the last 20 years has helped, in no small measure, to insulate Lagos from the worst effects of the decline in FAAC allocations resulting from the 2014 crash of global crude oil prices. Many other states in the federation were not as fortunate.”  To achieve improved revenue generation, the Governor said there was need to pursue efficient tax compliance among the citizens, pointing out that an improved tax collection and tax compliance drive would be a win-win policy for the government and the people. He said: “We know that as the level of tax compliance rises, citizens are more inclined to hold their governments accountable and demand a higher quality of governance and service.  “Citizens everywhere in the world are constantly seeking easier ways of engaging with their governments and fulfilling their civic responsibilities. It is the duty of governments to respond to this need by removing barriers that inhibit compliance.” How would the government achieve higher tax compliance? “It is through technology,” Sanwo-Olu declared, adding that a tech-driven process remained the vital tool that should be leveraged by the government to actualise the purpose.  He said: “This new Taxpayer Identification Number Registration System demonstrates the transformative power of technology as a significant contributor to the ease of doing business reforms, both at the national and sub-national levels. More critically, this also aligns with our agenda of leveraging technology to drive change across various economic sectors. “I believe there is still a lot of room for improvement on the progress made but this laudable initiative we are flagging off today will go a long way in bridging tax deficit by capturing eligible tax payers within the tax net.” The Governor praised the JTB and FIRS for the introduction of “a smart, innovative and technology-driven solution” in achieving higher tax compliance. Sanwo-Olu urged the media to play its role in educating the public on the importance and benefits of the new tax collection approach. Fowler, in his remark, said it was instructive Lagos was picked as suitable location for the flag-off of the new TIN Registration System in the Southwest, noting that first-ever tax transformation effort started in the state in 1999. The FIRS boss said the Southwest was the largest contributor to the tax generated in 2018 among sub-national zones. This, he said, was as a result of vibrancy in economic activities in the zone.   He said the new TIN Registration System would not only improve the efficiency of tax administration system, but would also reduce the cost and challenges associated with tax collection process. JTB Executive Secretary, Mr. Oseni Elamah, said the new registration system had addressed the challenges of multiple registrations previously experienced, adding that it had also strengthened transparency in collection process.   Source: Ecomium