AKHA Speaker wants fair tax regime for citizens

The Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State  House of Assembly has advocated for a fair and efficient tax regime that will help guarantee and advance the course of democracy.

The Speaker who made the observation when the President of The Chattered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Mr. M.A.C Dike, FCTI, paid a courtesy call on him recently, said that there are two major constraints to tax payments in Nigeria which include: the financial burden characterized by actual tax costs through rates and multiple taxes and the administrative burden resulting from the inefficiency of regulations as well as tax authorities in their dealings with taxpayers. The effect of this administrative inefficiency according to him is that, investors are discouraged while also placing the Nigerian economy among the most difficult economies in which payment of taxes and other dues in general attracts non-compliance.

To address this problem, Elder Ikon called for a centralized tax payment system driven by constant training and retraining of tax officers, technology, as well as professionalism and re-orientation of tax authorities.

The President of CITN, M.A.C. Dike on behalf of the delegation, expressed appreciation to the Speaker for receiving and welcoming them to the people’s parliament. “I also want to thank you for the wonderful manner with which you are piloting the legislative affairs of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly. It is an incontrovertible fact that good legislations translate to good laws which in turn brings about the desired development that the citizens crave for. It is only when this is in place that the citizens can be rest assured that their voices are being heard,” he stated. 

He explained that, The Institute started on 4th February, 1982 as Association of Tax Administrators and Practitioners. Thereafter, it metamorphosed into Nigerian Institute of Taxation, which was formally launched on February 21st, 1982 and statutorily recognized on May 6th, 1987 as a Company Limited by Guarantee. The Institute was granted Charter by the Federal Government of Nigeria via Decree No. 76 of 1992 now Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria Act Cap C10 LFN 2004.

Our aims and objectives as laid down in the charter are to;
• Determine what standards of knowledge and skills are to be attained by persons seeking to become registered members of the taxation profession;
•Raise, maintain and regulate the standard of taxation practice amongst its members;
• Promote professional ethics and efficiency in tax administration and practice; and
• Encourage, promote and co-ordinate research for the advancement of taxation practice and administration in Nigeria.

He informed the Speaker of the Institute’s role in the Nigerian tax system as exemplified by the institute’s involvement in the following activities, including, providing the manpower needs of the Nigerian tax system through the training of professionals; involvement in public discourse, debates and advisory activities geared towards evolving an efficient and professionalized tax system for the country; and ensuring that requisite standards are in place for the regulation of the practice of the taxation profession in Nigeria Mr. Dike however observed with dismay the process of passage of the appropriation budget, as budgetary estimates are made with no corresponding fiscal plan on the source of financing for the budget. He called on the Legislature to put the Executive arm of government to task on this issue in order to reduce incidences of non-implementation of the budget which sometimes exists albeit on paper.

“On the issue that has become a recurring decimal in the efforts of the government aimed at encouraging the payment of taxes is the complaint of illegal and multiple taxes by individuals and corporate entities alike. This is prevalent particularly at the third tier of government. It has created confusion in the tax system and also served as disincentives to investment (both local and foreign).  This is why we advise that all the tiers of government should adhere strictly to the provisions of the Taxes and Levies (Approved Lists for Collection) Act in order to create some level of sanity in the fiscal landscape of the country. Ultimately, Governments are well advised to move away from these multivariate taxes to only two broad-based Income tax and Expenditure tax for easy management, accountability and transparency. This will, all things being equal, attract foreign investors who had hitherto been running away from the country because of our unfriendly tax regime,” he advised.