President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, directed the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other revenue-generating agencies to plug leakages and ensure strict compliance with tax payment by foreign companies operating in Nigeria.
He also ordered the FIRS to facilitate deployment of more digital platforms and seamless connections.
Addressing the first National Tax Dialogue virtually at the State House, Abuja, the President mandated all government agencies to automate their operations and synergize to boost revenue generation.
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His words: “It is not enough that our citizens and local businesses pay their fair share of taxes. Equally, foreign businesses must also not be allowed to continue to exploit our markets and economy without paying appropriate taxes.
“Accordingly, the FIRS has my mandate to speedily put all measures in place to fully implement programmes to stamp out base erosion and profit shifting in all their ramifications and generally automate its tax processes.
“In line with this, I have directed all government agencies and business enterprises to grant FIRS access to their systems for a seamless connection. FIRS must ensure that its deployment of technology for automation is done in line with international best practices. In particular, FIRS can borrow a leaf from other countries which have successfully automated their tax processes.”
He assured the citizens that government was pursuing its mandate of improving lives through investment in infrastructures like railways, roads, electricity, healthcare and education in spite of dwindling revenue and the challenges posed by the novel coronavirus.
Source: TheGuardian
