The Nation Newspaper

Tag: collection

  • 100% PVC collection not possible, says Adeola

    100% PVC collection not possible, says Adeola

    Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts Hon. Solomon Adeola said at the weekend that a 100 per cent Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) collection before election is not attainable.

    Addressing All Progressives Congress (APC) youth leaders from Lagos West Senatorial District, who visited him, the senatorial candidate said from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) statistics, Lagos State has attained 81 per cent PVC collection. He said that the collection rate will improve before the March 22 collection deadline.

    “It is not possible to have a 100 per cent PVC collection. Lagos has attained 81 per cent as at the last count. He said those complaining or petitioning of PVC collection at this point were not prepared for the election and only dreading their imminent defeat.

    Adeola urged the youth leaders to enjoin those with PVCs not to sell their cards as some political parties are bent on disenfranchising those that already have PVCs for unknown reasons.

    He called on the youths to work hard for the desired change that is adding that, since 1999, this is the first time that the opposition is ahead of the ruling party in popularity rating by reputable polling organisations.

    The leader of the Youths Mr. Lukmon Jimoh, said APC youths in the district will deliver all ward to the APC.

    Also, a group in Alimosho Local Government of Lagos West Senatorial District, the Grassroots Progressive Movement (GPM), has endorsed the senatorial ambition of Solomon Adeola to represent Lagos West in the Senate.

    Its leader, Pastor Michael Oyedepo said the group which cut across all tribes with professionals and artisans, sees in the antecedent of the legislator a representative that has the interest of the people at heart.

    “We came to register our support for you face to face as we have been preaching to people on the need to have you as the senator as the most qualified candidate. You are friendly and hardworking. You have a record of public and community service and we are sure you will not disappoint at the Senate.” Oyedepo said.

    Adeola lamented Nigeria’s economic situation saying he will always support and partner with groups and individuals that believe in people’s power in electing leaders adding that until such groups as theirs and individual began to assert and exercise their power change to better leadership is very unlikely.

  • PVC collection: INEC allays fears of non-indigenes

    PVC collection: INEC allays fears of non-indigenes

    The Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Akin Orebiyi, has refuted the claim that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is disenfranchising non-indigenes, by denying them their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs). He said there are still 1.8 million cards waiting for people to collect, adding that those who have not collected theirs should come forward to do so.

    Speaking at a press conference in Lagos to update the public on developments concerning its preparations towards the forthcoming general elections, Orebiyi said the Commission in Lagos and elsewhere in the country are working round the clock to ensure that all registered voters collect their cards.

    He said: “As we speak, out of 5.9 million cards for Lagos State, we have distributed 3.6 million cards, which amounts to 62.7 per cent as at the end of last week. But, out of the 5.9 million cards, we are still waiting for about 400,000 cards. We are expecting cards in practically all the 20 local governments of the state.”

    The REC said people are construing the delay in arrival of the cards to mean that the Commission is denying some particular sections of the state their right to vote. He said: “It is not the intention of INEC to deny any ethnic group or any single community the collection of their cards. When we carried out the registration exercises, both in 2011 and 2014, people were not registered on the basis of which part of the country they came from. Therefore, there is no way we could have said these are the particular cards for a particular community.

    “Interestingly, the group that came here to lodge their complaints, when we looked at their letter and the names of those who were yet to collect their cards in their community, specifically from Ajeromi/Ifelodun, the names cut across all the ethnic groups. So, there is no intention on the part of INEC or any of its officials, within Lagos State or any part of Nigeria, to deny any community, any group the collection of their cards.”

    Orebiyi said Lagosians should not wait until the deadline on Sunday March 8 to collect the PVCs. He said from this week, collection of PVCs in the state would be extended to the polling units on Fridays and Saturdays, to bring it nearer to the people. For now, PVC distribution is taking place at INEC offices in the 20 local governments.

    He said when he took charge as the REC in January the percentage of PVC distribution was around 38 per cent, “but as at the end of last week, it was 62.7 per cent.”

    Orebiyi, who also used the opportunity to demonstrate how the Smart Card Readers that would be deployed on election day works, said his office has received about 12,000 card readers and that the commission’s staffs are busy, trying to configure them in readiness for the election. According the REC, each Smart Card Reader is configured to work in a particular polling unit. In other words, it cannot work in any other polling unit other than the one it is configured for. “The implication of this is that it will only identify or authenticate PVCs for that particular polling unit,” he said.

    He said there are two steps in the operation of the Smart Card Readers that would be followed when it is deployed for the election. His words: “One is authentication; this is to ascertain that the card belongs to INEC. If anybody brings another PVC that is not issued by INEC, it will not authenticate it or recognize it as INEC’s card. So, the issue of fake cards or clowned PVCs will not arise, because the Smart Card Reader will not authenticate it.

    “The next step, after the authentication, is the verification stage, where the bearer of the card would be asked to put his thumb on a particular point on the Smart Card Reader, to verify whether he or she is the rightful owner of the card. The implication of this is that no person can use another person’s card. This means that no person can be accredited and possibly vote in more than one place. These are some of the measures we’ve put in place to ensure a more transparent process this time around.”

    He said the Smart Card Reader is very reliable, because it has been tested in other countries, including Ghana and Kenya, where it worked effectively well. “The battery life of the Smart Card Readers is 12 hours. During the general election, it is going to be in use within the hours of 8am and 1pm,” the REC added.

    Orebiyi said the Smart Card Readers would be charged well in advance and overnight before the election day. He said provision would be made for a generator per collation centre, to ensure that the issue of the Card Readers failing because there is light to charge them would be ruled out. “But, in the case of failure, there is a contingency arrangement for a back-up,” he added.

    He said the electoral process this year would be dramatically different from what obtained in the past, as every vote would count because Nigeria has come to stage where it would no longer be business as usual.

  • ‘PVCs’ collection rises to 71 per cent’

    ‘PVCs’ collection rises to 71 per cent’

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said the collection of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Anambra State has increased from 55 to 71 per cent.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Edwin Nwatalari, briefed reporters yesterday in Awka.

    He said the increment occurred when he assumed office and embarked on a tour of INEC offices in the 21 local governments, where stakeholders were invited for an interactive session on the way forward.

  • Create a Neck with attitude

    Create a Neck with attitude

    For a number of ladies, stepping out without a neck piece isn’t exciting. This explains why they have a lot of them in their collection. However, it is important to wear the right neck piece to get that distinct effect.

    There is nothing prettier than a good ornate necklace. The best way to really make a statement with your bib necklace is to pair it with your favourite dress to get that glamorous look you desire. For a casual outing, you can opt for something sexy and simpler. Here stones and studs give you the glow required. The most important thing, however, is to make sure that it looks good on you and suits the combination.

    The necklace can be worn to any occasion of your choice, with a smart short gown or with a smart white shirt and a lovely jeans trouser. Necklace brings out the best in you and it is guaranteed to provide visual interest and make your outfit the best.

  • Increased tax collection: presumptive tax to the rescue

    Taxing the informal sector has become a huge challenge for tax authorities-whether at the state or federal level. Yet they must be taxed for government to be able to meet the desired objective of pooling funds together for development of social infrastructure. Presumptive taxation has therefore become one key tool used by tax administrators to get the “hard-to-tax” into the tax net whether in developed or developing countries. It is presumed that the deployment of a presumptive tax regime will widen the tax net in Nigeria.

    A presumptive tax regime is one where the desired tax base is not itself measured but is inferred from some simple indicators-turnover, assets, farm size, value of land, shop value, etc., which are more easily measured in place of complex financial statements. The kernel of presumptive taxation is anchored on section 6 of the Personal Income Tax(Amendment) Act, 2011, which introduced a new subsection (6) to section 36 of the preceding act, as follows; “Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Act, where for all practical purposes the income of the taxpayer cannot be ascertained or records are not kept in such manner as would enable proper assessment of income, then such manner a taxpayer shall be assessed on such terms and conditions as would be prescribed by the Ministry of Finance in regulations by order of gazette under a presumptive tax regime”.

    A lot of people have argued that when taken from a historical perspective presumptive taxes have always existed and that there has only been a transition from an agricultural based economy to industrialized driven economies. Whereas tax administrators have made sufficient laws to ensure compliance with regard to structured businesses with verifiable statements of accounts, the informal sector remains unreached. What this portends for an economy that requires all the funding it can get to tackle decaying infrastructure is deprivation of needed resources which is quite huge from the informal sector.

    The size of the informal sector in Nigeria is very enormous, knowing from hindsight that the informal sector employs a huge chunk of labour force, while a lot more are self employed without appropriate documented means of accounting for their income. Presumptive taxes provides for a simplified option for tax compliance without going through the rigors of financial documentation. It opens a new vista for those outside the tax net to be integrated into the system as well as limiting tax avoidance.

    Essentially, presumptive taxation offers even more than assumptions of payable income taxes, as it also offers a streamlined method for transiting from the informal to the organized structure whether individually or a business. A movement from the burden of standard assessment system accounting method to assessment as per volume of trade, value of land or even simple turnover of trade substantially encourages unwilling taxpayers to pay their taxes and also enjoy incentives or benefits that the formal sector enjoys.

    From a Nigeria point of view, it is obvious that most taxpayers and even incorporated businesses are still grappling with maintaining accurate reporting standards or even navigating complex tax codes, which has resulted in non compliance and evasion, requiring additional resources and efforts from the tax administrator to enforce compliance. So figuratively speaking, part of the rationale of presumptive taxation will be to reach as many that the proposed regulation will cover to engender a stronger taxpaying culture. Some tax experts have also insisted that Presumptive taxation will engender self assessment since most taxpayers covered by this regulation will have to file their assessment by completing simple forms with little aid. This appears rational but it must be said that Presumptive taxation is targeted at increasing revenue collection using the simplest means possible.

    In jurisdictions were presumptive taxation is practised, standard and estimated assessments, presumptive minimum taxes, value of land, net wealth and asset value are some of the methods employed in estimating income and assessing tax liability. While a lot of stakeholders have argued for and against the various forms of assessment noting that some of such methods do not allow for fairness of assessment, however it must be noted that the various methods have their merits and demerits but each addresses different set of taxpayers and would be proper to apply them accordingly.

    Interestingly, some advanced countries still practice Presumptive taxation e.g. In Czech, lump sum taxation is available for individuals with income from agriculture production, from a trade and/or from other business activity if the business has no employees or co-operating persons, and annual income in the three immediately preceding taxable periods did not exceed CZK5m (US$234,000). The business owner may not participate in an association that is not a legal entity. In France Presumptive taxation was widely used in the agricultural taxation even though it’s application has reduced tremendously in the last decade, it was used to effectively tax that sector and afforded taxpayers the skill to transit to desirable filing/assessment methods. Also in France, farmers with a turnover of 500,000 francs or less are eligible for the presumptive basis of taxation. Locally, the Lagos Internal revenue Service (LIRS) has introduced some form of direct presumptive taxes which has yielded increased revenue for the state. Though much can still be achieved has it is obvious that artisans and petty traders are the primary focus of their policy.

    Presumptive taxation is an attractive method of governments’ continuing effort at making the tax system more productive and efficient while instilling responsibility of citizenship and ownership simultaneously. Also of strategic importance is the capacity of the tax administration to handle the particular presumptive method being applied for improved compliance. Attention must also be paid to how a particular presumptive method will work in different situation. The administrative competence and capacity of the tax administrator will be sufficiently tasked for the implementation of presumptive taxation to effectively fill the void it was been created to serve because if taxpayers can hide the factors on which the presumption is based as easily as they can hide income, then the presumption will not be of much use. Taxing the informal sector can add substantially to revenue collection and as stated recently by the Ag.Chairman of the FIRS “such a large pool of taxpayers cannot be ignored by any tax system, which seeks to make taxation the pivot of national development”, this statement in itself sums up the desirability of a presumptive tax regime.

    • Obaro can be reached at: obaro.frank@gmail.com