The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has reiterated its desire to advance taxation as an essential tool for promoting employment, income redistribution, competitive environment for businesses and economy.
Speaking at the Institute’s Annual Tax Conference in Lagos, CITN President, Dame Gladys Olajumoke Simplice, said that the conference had over time, set the tone from the top by making political leaders pay their fair share of taxes and ensuring that Ministries, Departments and Agencies account for taxes collected.
Speaking on the theme: “Taxation and Economic Competitiveness: Imperatives for National Development”, she said the role of taxation in the development and sustenance discourse cannot be over emphasized adding that taxation has vast potential to deliver economic prosperity for the country.
According to her, there was need for government economic policies to be matched with tax reforms that encourage growth through executive orders and sponsorship of legislative bills capable of promoting entrepreneurial development.
Simplice said there was also need for government to work with Business Enabling Environment Secretariat to simplify taxes on businesses.
This, she said would attract foreign direct investments while mechanisms should be set up to review existing treaties and enter into more treaties with other developed economies to improve the Nigerian economy.
Discussions at that conference centred on the broader role of taxation as an essential tool for promoting economic growth and development, with highlights and various submissions made, in terms of the policy, legal and administrative prescriptions for various stakeholders in the economy vis:
The tax body had also advised the National Assembly to action all tax bills for purpose of allowing taxation to achieve its fiscal potency latent within it and enact pro-entrepreneurial laws to nurture and develop entrepreneurial initiatives for the achievement of full employment with concomitant creation of wider tax bases.
It also called on tax practitioners to address challenges of taxation of the informal sector through tax education and sensitization, data mining of membership records of Trade Associations and the presumptive tax regime.
They should also encourage sound tax practices by providing incentives to tax practitioners that adhere to the highest ethical codes for handling the affairs of taxpayers’ right as well as incentives to Taxpayers with a high level of tax compliance.
