I left N129bn In FIRS Coffers – Nami

The immediate past Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami, has insisted that he did not approve the sum of N11 billion after taking his pre-retirement leave as has been alleged by the Cable Newspaper. In a statement he personally signed, Nami said that the entire story was sensationally written with mischief that took the ordinary events of his work out of context with the intent to tarnish his hard-earned reputation.   The immediate past FIRS boss stressed that after his exit as FIRS Executive Chairman, he did not make any approvals as has been claimed by the newspaper.  Nami insisted that he met only N1.4 billion in the purse of the FIRS when he assumed office and left the sum of N129 billion in the purse of the Service when he handed over to the new Chairman, Zacch Adedeji recently. “Fundamentally, it is important to note that no payment was made by the Service after the announcement of my pre-retirement leave as claimed by this story. An approval for payment in the Service is one step of a journey to payment. It is the custom that when a new Executive Chairman resumes office, he would review, validate and make final authorisation before any payments can be made.  “It is important to note for the record that all decisions reached and extant liabilities/ commitments of the Service during my stay in office are contained in the handover notes I made available to my successor, Mr. Zacch Adedeji. He is fully briefed on everything. For clarity, the items listed in the Cable Newspaper Report were part of the N16 billion outstanding commitments contained in our handover note.  “The N5 billion paid to the Joint Tax Board was paid to fund the activities of the Presidential Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy Reforms two months before I left office. It was paid after we received a letter to that effect from the office of Mr. President signed by Zacch Adedeji himself.  “The report maliciously attempts to portray a picture that I hurriedly left the country on September 16th after these so-called “suspicious approvals” were made. Again, nothing can be further from the truth. If I traveled out of the country on the 16th of September, how then did I attend the handover ceremony with Mr. Zacch on the afternoon of Monday 18th September 2023? That handover ceremony was covered by the media, and can be cross-checked.  “It is disappointing to see the Cable, a revered online newspaper attempt to sensationalise events that took place in the ordinary course of work in office, making them seem as if they were done in bad faith.  “I want to categorically state that every decision I made within the time of my stay in office was within the ambit of the law and within the lawful powers I exercised then as Executive Chairman,” he explained.

Difficult but necessary reforms needed to ramp up tax revenue – JTB

For Nigeria to attain optimum tax revenue collection capacity across the Federal, States and Local Government tax authorities, the country must make hard but necessary reforms that would yield long term benefits. This was the position stated by the Chairman of the Joint Tax Board (JTB), Mr. Muhammad Nami, who is also the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) at the 153rd Meeting of the Board which held today in Abuja with the theme: “Harmonization and codification of taxes at the National and Sub-national levels: Key to achieving a tax friendly environment in Nigeria.”  Nami, while delivering his address to the Board stated that for progress to be made in taxation, tax authorities must continue to explore and adopt measures and innovative initiatives that will lead to the optimisation of tax revenue for all levels of government.  “As the new administration’s attempt to address the many socioeconomic challenges facing the nation on many fronts, it becomes imperative for all the levers of State to shake-off any lethargic antecedents and focus on the goal of a national resurgence. “The unique and privileged offices we occupy as drivers of the nation’s tax administration processes presents us with a rare opportunity to take hard, but necessary decisions that are expected to yield long term benefits and add immense value to our collective prosperity as a nation. “In recent years, especially since the dawn of our current democratic dispensation, the importance of taxation has continued to be reiterated and reinforced by all, and the critical role that tax-revenue plays in funding government and governance cannot be over-emphasized.  “However, as we continue to make progress in our unique model of taxation, it is appropriate that we continue to explore and adopt measures and innovative initiatives that will lead to the optimization of tax revenue for all the levels of government, in more efficient, more effective, more inclusive, and more sustainable ways. “It is only by achieving this, that our efforts as tax administrators can trigger the manner of activity required in the productive sectors of our economy, towards achieving the immense economic potentials that we are capable of,” Mr. Nami said. The Chairman of the Joint Tax Board further assured Executive Chairmen of State Revenue Authorities present that given the thrust of the current administration’s tax policy direction, the country was on the pathway to eradicating multiplicity of taxes as a core of its overall economic regeneration objectives.  Chairman, Presidential Fiscal Policy & Tax Reforms Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, while delivering a presentation on the theme of the meeting highlighted that multiple taxation was causing low tax morale in the country, as well as discouraging investments, while creating room for corruption and making doing business difficult. The Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee Chairman further noted that the solution to the country’s revenue challenges is not to introduce more taxes, but to focus on the few taxes that are high yielding, noting that with these, tax authorities would be able to collect far more than is currently being collected.  Oyedele stated that for the government to raise more revenue, it needed to get to a point where the total number of taxes collected at the Federal, State and Local government levels would be at a single digit.  “We also need to clarify on taxing rights. We need to integrate tax collection functions—that is, all revenues that are to be collected must be collected by a single revenue agency. Government must also do well to fund our tax agencies well. We also need to harmonise revenue administration and simplify our approach to tax compliance,” Oyedele said. He further advocated for the country’s tax authorities to use more technology, review the country’s constitution and tax laws, as well revisit Nigeria’s concept of fiscal federalism.

CIT Returns: FIRS extends filing date till August 31st

In a bid to encourage compliance, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has extended the due date for filing Company Income Tax returns.  Special Assistant (Media & Communication) to the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Johannes Oluwatobi Wojuola, in a statement to journalists Monday, said the filing for CIT will not attract penalties or interest. The Service said: “Companies that were unable to file their Companies Income Tax returns for the 2023 year of assessment (YOA) that fell due on the 30th of June 2023 have been given up to 31st August, 2023 to submit their returns to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).” According to the Service, it received numerous calls from companies requesting the extension of time to submit their Companies Income Tax (CIT) returns as they were unable to meet up with the deadline due on 30th June 2023.  A public notice signed by FIRS boss, Muhammed NAMI, notes that as a measure of goodwill and in line with relevant provisions of the Companies Income Tax Act, “all companies whose CIT returns for the 2023 year of assessment that fall due between 30th June and 31st August 2023 (both days inclusive) are given up to 31st August 2023 to submit the returns to the Service.” The FIRS noted that the relevant Companies’ Income Tax returns will not attract late filing penalties or interests if payments were made on or before 31st August 2023, noting further that where companies fail to file by the extended date, the penalty and interest for late payment will be computed from the original due date.  “The relevant CIT returns shall, therefore, not attract Late Filing Penalty or interest for late payment if submitted to the Service on or before 31st August 2023. “Where relevant CIT returns are not filed by the extended date, penalty and interest for late payment shall be computed from the original due date and not the extended date.” The Service also stated that the extension of the filing date is only for Companies’ Income Tax and does not include returns for withholding tax, value-added tax, and personal income tax (PAYE), among others.  “The Service invites all relevant taxpayers to take the opportunity afforded by this extension to submit their CIT returns within the specified time, pay the taxes due and avoid payment of penalty and interest,” the notice read.

FCT-IRS bemoans payment of Withholding Tax to wrong jurisdictions

The FCT Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) has urged Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and contractors in the territory to remit Withholding Taxes (WHT) appropriately to it. Its spokesman, Mr Mustapha Sumaila, noted in a statement he issued in Abuja, that many organisations erroneously remitted withholding taxes meant for the FCT-IRS to other tax authorities. He stressed that it was important for taxpayers to understand tax jurisdiction rules. According to him, WHT for limited liability companies is remitted to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) while WHT for Enterprises and Individual contractors goes to Internal Revenue Services of states or to FCT-IRS. “We have observed instances where wrong tax jurisdiction is entered on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform by MDAs’ desk officers. “This error can lead to contractors suffering loss of WHT credit and relevant tax authority experiencing revenue loss. “The beneficiary of the WHT may also be denied the WHT credit. “To prevent such losses, we urge all MDA desk officers to ensure accurate data entry at the point of initiation. “We also wish to draw the attention of enterprises and individual contractors in the FCT to this issue and caution them of the potential consequences,’’ he stated. Sumaila warned that FCT-IRS would not issue Tax Clearance Certificates on WHT credit wrongly sent to other tax jurisdictions by GIFMIS platform. “We advise all taxpayers to liaise closely with their respective MDA desk officers to ensure the correct tax jurisdiction is selected during WHT remittance. “Our aim is to ensure seamless tax administration system that supports compliance, promotes ease of doing business, and upholds principles of transparency and accountability,’’ he stressed. The FCT-IRS took over the administration, collection, and accounting of taxes in the FCT from the FIRS in 2018.