Stakeholders in tax and revenue segment of Nigerian economy are upbeat on having in place a mechanism to monitor professionals in tax practice.
They are also positive on the impact of adopting e-filing of tax returns and payments as the way forward in Nigeria’s tax revenue drive.
Some of the stakeholders bared their views at a recent sensitisation programme on professional tax practice monitoring and e-filing of tax returns and payment held at the tax professionals’ house in Ikeja, Lagos.
Participants at the forum organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in conjunction with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) were unanimous in their submission that the level of respect and attractiveness of every profession was derived principally from the ability of its members to meet the needs of the environment where they operate in an efficient and effective manner.
“The importance of having in place a mechanism to monitor members in practice cannot be over emphasised. This is expedient considering the need to ensure that members offer the highest quality service to their clients and indeed all stakeholders in the Nigerian tax system,” said Mark Anthony Dike, president/chairman of Council, CITN.
He said: “Over the years, our members have operated without any form of oversight check from the Institute. This does not augur well for the profession as this gives rise to unprofessional conduct and disregard for the provisions of the Institute’s membership rules and code of conduct. It also gives rise to a situation where unqualified individuals offer professional tax services without recourse to the regulatory powers of the Institute. It is in order to check this ugly trend that we re-invigorated the Committee.”
The programme also kept participants abreast of one of the key flanks of the Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) of the FIRS, which is the Electronic Filing of Tax Returns and Payment System – a fundamental aspect of the reformation of the tax administration for better service delivery. At the forum, officers of the FIRS took participants through the workings of the system.
Iheanyi Nwachukwu
