The Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zaccheus Adedeji, has dispelled fears in some quarters on the imminent introduction of new taxes through the tax reform Bills being considered by the National Assembly.
Adedeji made this clarification during an interactive session with the Senate Committee on Finance in Abuja.
He assured that the tax reform bills do not contain the introduction of new taxes or increases in already existing ones.
Adedeji said: “Tax reform will not introduce any taxes or increase the percentage of existing ones but reduce the number of taxes being paid by Nigerians.
“No agency will be merged in the process of carrying out the reforms and no job will be taken from anybody.
“The Tax reform basically seeks to increase simplicity and efficiency of tax administration in Nigeria.”
He said existing tax policies introduced by the President Bola Tinubu’s administration are not meant to “tax poverty but prosperity, fruits and not seeds, returns and not investments.
“The four bills which are (i) Nigeria Tax Bill, ( ii) Nigeria Tax Administration Act (amendment) Bill, (iii) Nigeria Revenue Service Bill and (iv) Joint Revenue Board (establishment) Bill; when passed into law, would among others help to harmonise the multiple tax laws in the country;
“Drive efficiency and modernisation, simplify tax laws and ensure synergy among agencies involved, increase efficiency and effectiveness in government savings, promote transparency and integrity in revenue collection, align with international standards, broaden Nigeria’s tax base etc.”
When asked to explain the proposed change in the name of FIRS to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Adedeji said the present name of the agency does not cover the scope of its services, like the Value Added Tax (VAT), 85per cent of which according to him, are remitted to States while the Federal government gets the remaining 15 per cent.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Sani Musa said the purpose of the interactive session was for the FIRS boss to update the committee on the objectives of the proposed tax reforms.
“Tax reforms lie at the heart of government’s agenda and requires constructive inputs from all stakeholders,” he said.
He commended the FIRS boss for meeting up with the revenue targets set in the fiscal year and urged him to go beyond the target.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
