The Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Muhammad Nami has charged the staff of the agency to buckle up for the new accountable and fair tax regime that will make those who earn more to pay an equitable tax towards the public good.
Nami who spoke at the launching of the Agency’s 2020 Corporate goals stated that new organisational structure which opens up new vacant positions had been approved by the board, urging the in-house staff to make efforts to occupy the new positions.
“Many positions in the organogram are vacant and open to the FIRS officials. The vacancies wuill be filled strictly on measurable merit and performance criteria”, as Nami thereby charges them to distinguish themselves in the shortest possible time by meeting set collection targets in order to take up these available positions of higher responsibilities.
The new Finance Act has prompted a new tax regime which also widen the agency’s operation, with new positions which must be filled for an efficient implementation of the new law.
This new tax regime took centre stage over the weekend in Abuja at the FIRS’ management retreat which drew participants from the revenue generating agency and others in the audit and accounting profession.
The purpose is to update the skills of the staff and other operators on expectations from them in the new regime geared towards lifting 100 million Nigerians out of the poverty net in the next 10 years.
This issue was roundly discussed by paper presenters, discussants and the audience who rubbed minds on the 2019 Finance Act in deeply stimulating debate.
The debate featured comments and questions session during which all respondents, including FIRS officials, spoke with candor, forthrightness and straight from the heart to diagnose the challenges and proffer solutions towards the implementation of the 2019 Finance Act.
Taiwo Oyedele, Head, Tax and Corporate Advisory Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers Nigeria in the Lead Paper of the day titled “Strategies for implementing the New VAT Regime” and other discussants cleared the erroneous impression that the new 7.5% Value Added Tax (VAT) would impact negatively on poor Nigerians as it made clear that the well-to-do would now pay their fair share of taxes in the country unlike before.
Oyedele based the key to building this fair, equitable tax system in transparency, accountability, integrity, work and objectivity to build confidence in taxpayers and stakeholders in the tax sector.
Pic.5. From left: Executive Chairman, Federal
Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami; Chairman, Revenue Mobilization
Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Chief Elias Mbam; and representative of the
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Fatima Hayatu, during
the 2020 FIRS corporate plan retreat in Abuja on (7/2/20).
00803/7/2/2020/Jimah Suleman/NAN
Pic.7. Representative of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Olusegun Adekunle (4th R); representative of the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Fatima Hayatu (3rd R); Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami (5th R); Chairman, Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Chief Elias Mbam (R); and other dignitaries, during the 2020 FIRS corporate plan retreat in Abuja on (7/2/20)
