The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) President, Adesina Adedayo, has said members should familiarise themselves with the Finance Act.
He spoke at the workshop in Lagos with the theme: ”Evaluation of Finance Act 2019 to 2021 and practical steps to implementation by practitioners”.
Adedayo, said: “The Finance Act has transformed the taxation landscape. Therefore, it is germane to have this workshop, particularly in times such as this when it continues to overcome the albatross that has stood in her way of advancement.
“There is, therefore, need for tax practitioners to familiarise themselves with the Act and its implications. The role of tax practitioners as critical stakeholders in the implementation of provisions contained in the Finance Act cannot be over-emphasised.’’
Partner, Tax & Regulatory Deloitte Nigeria, Taiwo Okunade explained: “The Act is aimed at curing the deficiencies of major primary tax legislation by amending obsolete and contentious provisions. This is a major aspect of the initiatives suggested by the President Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee.’’
According to him, developed countries like the United Kingdom adopted similar approach to grant certain duties, to alter other duties, and to amend the law relating to the national debt and the public revenue, and to make further provision in connection with finance.
The event was also a good way to equip tax practitioners on skills required to guide clients on the implementation of the various changes necessary to comply with the various key amendments as contained in the 2020 and 2021 Acts.
In a report by Ijewere & Co, the tax audit firm said the review of the Finance Act will enable advisers on tax issues to advise clients on ways to comply with the extant provision of the laws on any proposed or future transactions, preparation of the clients tax returns to comply with updated tax provisions and in defending clients’ tax returns during audit or desk examinations based on the Finance Acts.
For instance, on the issue of tax exemption of interest on loan grated to companies engaged in primary agricultural production, the challenge is on identifying the existing loan portfolio that will or will not qualify for tax expedition, determining the cost to the disallowed in respect of exempted interest from primary agricultural production loan.
The guide to practitioners entails that preliminary review of the existing agricultural loan portfolio, obtaining and reviewing the loan agreement to ensure it is not less than 12 months and interest rate is not more than base lensing rate at the time of loan grant, among other factors.