A financial expert, Otunba Kunle Ogundipe, has said a functional system will strengthen the economy and empower small-business sector.
Ogundipe, who was the chairman at the launch of Taxpal, a tax consultancy in Lagos, said an adequate and functional infrastructure will have a multiplier effect on the growth of the economy. This, according to him, would help towards the diversification of the revenue base of the Nigerian economy.
He said taxation provided a critical source of finance to governments for the provision of public services that would be vital for sustainable development.
Ogundipe said he was fascinated with the benefits in the solution that Taxpal was providing Nigerians.
The Chief Operating Officer, Taxpal Nigeria, Jide Banjo, said the company is introducing a solution to make it easier for tax payers to pay their taxes and improve tax compliance in the country.
Banjo stated. “At Taxpal, we have come up with a solution to simplify the tax system so that individuals, small businesses and other organisations will be able to easily meet their tax obligations.”
He noted that taxpayers were faced with myriads of challenges such as double taxation by different government agencies, and the inability to understand how much they should pay.
According to him, the firm’s solutions will help to address the challenges, which will help taxpayers to be compliant and be able to freely do business with the government.
Banjo noted that in many countries with less population than Nigeria, tax revenue accounted for a significant part of their total revenues.
The Director, Lagos Inland Revenue Service, Shade Coker said an effective and service-oriented tax administration is essential to ensuring a healthy business environment and promoting economic growth. As such, the Federal Government made tax reform a major priority for the country as it seeks to achieve its development goals and reduce poverty.
Revenue collection in the country, according toher remains challenging, however. This is due to several factors, including low tax payers enlightenment.
She noted that closing the tax gap and collecting revenue effectively will help thegovernment provide the fiscal space needed for investment in high quality public services to citizens and in infrastructure that will spur economic growth.
To support the government’s efforts to build a more efficient, transparent and service-oriented tax system, she saidboth Federal and the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) have modernised the IT infrastructure and are working on a unified tax management system. This mean increased efficiency, with reduced physical interaction between tax officials and taxpayers.
The new system enables the tax administration to generate the data necessary for its analytical work, and to improve reporting and tax assessments.
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