Tax news

The Federal Government says, it has paid N135 billion of all outstanding PAYE tax liabilities owed by Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for 14 years to various states government. The Chairman of Joint Tax Board, Mr Tunde Fowler, said this at a programme tagged; “Go-Live’’ for the New National Tax Identification Number (TIN) Registration System in Abuja on Monday. The outstanding liabilities of the MDAs paid by the Federal Government covered 2002 to 2016. He urged the states government to emulate and promptly remit all withholding taxes, including Value Added Tax due to the federation account: “It is not only important that these records are available, it is equally necessary that the records are credible and reliable and that they are accessible under a secured environment, and online real-time. “The role data plays in today’s world cannot be overemphasized; and for the revenue potential of the country to be maximally harnessed, it is essential that credible and reliable data is available for use. “Such record is also important to facilitate the Ease of Doing Business and for the nation to achieve its economic objectives in line with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).’’ Fowler expressed confidence that the new system would add value to tax-revenue administration in the country, not only in terms of processes and procedures, but in terms of efficiency and ensuring a co-ordinated and systematic approach. According to him, the new TIN system will limit the incidence of double taxation which is also a prerequisite for a number of transactions such as sale and purchase of immoveable property, registration of vehicles and application of plots of lands. The chairman commended its partners, especially some Federal Government agencies for their support in having the new TIN system in place.   Source: VAN

The Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, has projected that in the next three years, Nigeria’s non-oil revenue will be at about 75 per cent. He also anticipated that within same period, the number of tax payers in the country would have risen to over 60 million. Fowler, said this during an interview on Arise Television, that “If you look at where we are coming from and where we are right now, last year we did N5.3 trillion out of which the non-oil sector accounted for 53.6 per cent and that of course was the highest revenue generated in the history of Nigeria.” He also spoke on the recent inauguration of the Joint Tax Board identification number registration system, explaining that it was basically the same thing as the Tax Identification Number. “What we have now is a Consolidated Tax Data base. All tax payers within the country and corporate organisations have the tax information residing in one data base. “Prior to this, in line with the constitution, every state has a right to have a tax identification number for its residents. So if you have a transaction for example, in Lagos and you reside in Kano, the Kano Revenue Service will issue you a tax payer certificate which you would bring to Lagos. “Lagos will now manually confirm that the certificate is genuine and also access the tax based on the transaction you want to carry out in Lagos and at time, this takes a while. “Also, if they believe your taxes paid in Kano were not sufficient, they would ask you to pay additional tax but now at the touch of a button, your tax history can be seen by tax officials in Lagos and you can carry out your business seamlessly or if you want to do a government contract, and part of the requirements is that you show evidence of a tax clearing certificate, at the touch of a button, that official would see your tax status “This system also keeps accurate records of all payments to the government so if you want to check your payments from about three to five years ago, you would be able to access your tax information and adequate records of all your transactions. “It makes business much easier and also improves transparency and accountability and all these can be done 24/7 online, anywhere in the world.”   Source: Investor King

The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service has resumed the sealing of companies and hospitality firms over unpaid consumption taxes. LIRS sealed 14 firms during its tax law enforcement exercise on Wednesday. The LIRS Director of Legal Services, Mr Seyi Alade, said that two enforcement teams had been mobilised by the service for the state-wide exercise. Now, the service has resumed sealing of firms particularly the hospitality firms. It (LIRS) is committed to continuing the exercise until full compliance to tax payment and remittance are achieved,” Alade said. Alade claimed that less than 65 per cent of the corporate organisations operating in the state pay taxes, saying that many of them operated without any tax remittance to the government. He called on firms to ensure up-to-date tax payment. The Head of Distrain Unit of the LIRS, Mrs Ajibike Oshodi-Sholola, said that the two enforcement teams had sealed 14 hospitality firms, including restaurants, hotels and guesthouses. According to her, the tax liabilities of the affected firms covered from 2014 to 2016, saying that they were audited for the two years but had yet to make payment. “Before LIRS embarks on sealing, it must send two letters to the management of the affected firm, reminding it of tax liabilities. “Both the demand notice and letter of intention to distrain were sent to the management of hospitality firms but they failed to act,” she said.   Source: Punch

The Joint Tax Board (JTB) has launched a new national registration system that would enable Nigerians to obtain their taxpayer identification number (TIN) online. The new system launched in Abuja is also targeted at tracking all eligible taxpayers in the country. Launching the new platform, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo expressed hope it would go a long way in reforming Nigeria’s tax system while ensuring better service delivery for citizens. Tunde Fowler, JTB chairman, said the new system will provide a unique identity to the taxpayer and facilitate ease of compliance. He said its main objective is to leverage already captured data of eligible taxpayers by relevant government institutions to discover hidden trends and patterns that could lead to better visibility and revenue generation for the government.   Source: Governance news

The new national Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) registration system and consolidated tax database will ensure value addition to tax revenue administration and facilitate the ease of doing business, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said. The system, which consolidates individual and corporate taxpayers’ records, provides a unique identity to the taxpayer as the foundation of the country’s automated tax administration system. The Chairman of FIRS, Tunde Fowler, said the system is a web-based solution offering access to authorised users to initiate TIN request from the comfort of their homes/offices real-time online, verify tax status and print TIN certificates. Mr Fowler said the system 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 planning, he added. He was speaking at the official launch of the new system by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday in Abuja. The FIRS Chairman, who is also the Chairman of the Joint Tax Board, said with tax administration in the 21st century evolving into a systematic and deliberate process based on availability of accurate and reliable data, the new system will ensure the identification of individuals and businesses. He said available tax records through the system would not only be credible and reliable, “they would be readily accessible under a secure environment, online and real time”. “For the revenue potentials of the country to be maximally harnessed, it is essential that credible and reliable data is available for use,” he said. Ease of doing business. Such records, he said, are essential to facilitate the ease of doing business and to help Nigeria achieve its economic objectives in line with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). RIPAN Campaign AD. Other benefits of the new system, Mr Fowler said, include boosting efficiency and ensuring coordinated and systematic approach towards managing revenue generation and tax information sharing between tax authorities in and outside the country. He said the consolidated database limits the incidences of double taxation. It also serves as a prerequisite for the sale and purchase of immovable property, registration of vehicles, applications for plots of land, import and export licence, registration as a contractor, and entry visas. Mr Fowler said the system has potentials to help the FIRS increase its tax base from the current 20 million taxpayers to about 45 million before the end of the third quarter of 2019. Leverage, synergy. The Executive Secretary, JTB, Oseni Elamah, said the new system leverages on existing data from relevant identity management agencies to reduce the burden of multiple registration of taxpayers, ensure seamless integration and exchange of information among the various tax authorities. Mr Elamah said the new system will ensure the process of domestic tax-revenue administration meets up with the developing trends in information and communication technology.   Source: Premium Time