By Dipo Olowookere
Investors, business owners, workers and others in Nigeria have been assured an efficient tax system driven by modern technology.
This assurance was given by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, in her goodwill message to the 23rd annual Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) conference held in Abuja.
She informed the participants that the federal government was determined to promote and sustain an efficient tax administration with the aim of boosting tax revenue collection.
At the event themed Taxation for Economic Recovery: A Necessity for Social Engagement and Economic Sustainability, the Minister tasked stakeholders to continuously work in coming up with new innovations to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the tax system.
She assured that the government will continue to ensure the improvement of the tax administration framework to optimise government revenue which is a major thrust of the current administration’s Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative (SRGI).
Mrs Ahmed said the theme was in tune with the 2021 approved budget theme, Economic Recovery and Resilience, which is aimed at accelerating the economic recovery process, promoting social inclusion and strengthening the resilience of the economy.
“Nigeria’s low revenue generation has been a very serious challenge for past and present administration.
“The debate on leveraging domestic resource mobilisation for sustainable development has been a recurring issue at different fora including this one of today.
“As part of government’s efforts in strengthening the effectiveness of the Nigerian tax system, we have instituted various tax reforms through the annual Finance Bill. This has culminated in the Finance Act, 2019 and Finance Act, 2020.
“The Finance Act, 2020 is unique as it consists of over 80 changes to 14 different laws, including some tax law provisions, which are harped on ensuring a balance between broader macroeconomic strategies and specific measures to attract investment, grow the economy and create jobs,” she stated.
The Minister said the act also encompasses immediate fiscal strategies for accelerated domestic revenue mobilisation, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the domestic/global economic downturn.
The underlying principle of the tax policy reforms, she stressed, is to adopt counter-cyclical fiscal policies to simplify the tax system, provide fiscal relief to taxpayers and attract more taxpayers into the tax net.
Mrs Ahmed noted that ‘Project Lighthouse’ is her ministry’s follow-up to the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) which is a single source data analytic tool to support revenue agencies, tax authorities and other stakeholders to address the issue of current revenue challenges using tax.
She observed that the global tax landscape and architecture is dynamic and that the Nigerian tax system has to keep responding to the changes in the international tax space.
Adedapo Adesanya