Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo has tasked the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) to be proactive toward expanding the frontier of taxation in the country.
Obaseki gave the charge at the CITN 40th anniversary dinner, weekend, in Lagos, with theme: “Evolution of taxation as a profession in Nigeria: The birth of CITN.”
The governor, represented by John Inegbedio, chairman, Taskforce on IGR, Edo, said taxation was the only sustainable source of revenue generation in a nation.
According to him, the CITN should be a major stakeholder in coordinating the influence of taxation practice in Nigeria by getting all stakeholders/parties to work together and be fair to taxpayers.
Obaseki urged the institute to focus more on coordinating, energising and educating the general public on taxation as their civic responsibility.
“Forty years is a unique achievement for the Institute and is worth celebrating. More importantly, the fact that taxation has become the national discourse as we all can see now that the oil revenue can no longer sustain the country.
“Clearly, every society that is striving in the advanced economy is taxation, even the politics is tied to taxation. They know who pays what and at what rate.
“Before now, that was not the case in Nigeria, both national and sub-national are beginning to realise that is the only way forward,” he said.
Obaseki said that CITN stood out as one of the major stakeholders to coordinate, energise and educate the public on issues of taxation.
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“More importantly to provide the needed information to the public on what form of tax to pay, the way the tax should be collected, the rights of taxpayers and the rights of various governments that collect tax.
“Also, to help eliminate areas of misunderstanding and confusion, so that everybody is on board, and then as a society, we will be able to render the services that will boost the nation’s taxation system,” he said.
Morenike Babington-Ashaye, a founding father of CITN, called for more collaboration between the government and the institute.
She said that the government should put CITN into more use by ensuring that the institute was always at the forefront of all issues relating to taxation practice in the country.
Babington-Ashaye said that CITN was well-positioned to carry out extensive research concerning all expenditures, finance bills and budget finances before its execution.
She said that on no condition should the government involve any external body to handle issues relating to budgetary/taxation.
According to her, taxation is an agent of change; it can be used to control the circulation and inflow of income/possessions among Nigeria citizens.
Also, the wife of Ogun State governor, Bamidele Abiodun, urged the CITN to continue in its efforts to promote taxation in Nigeria. She said she was particularly impressed by how the institute outlined its plans to grow the taxation system.
Abiodun said the CITN had all it takes to transform taxation practice in the country.
“We look forward to seeing the transformation role you are going to play in many years ahead in the country’s taxation system,” she said.
