CITN urges tax authorities to engage taxpayers

...as NECA asks FG to examine effect of taxation on economy

Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria ( CITN) has advised the tax authorities to engage more with taxpayers towards addressing the challenges that they (taxpayers) face in these uncertain and challenging times.

Gladys Olajumoke Simplice, 14th president and chairman of council, CITN, gave this advice at the 42nd induction of new members of the institute, which held recently. The induction was the first ever virtual induction in the history of the Institute.

She urged the inductees to commit to the realisation of the goals of the Institute by their active participation at the CITN programmes and activities.

“Your professional conduct and depth of your technical capacity inexorably confers greater respect and value on the Institute by all those that deal with you”, CITN president added.

The new members joined the taxation profession at a challenging time for all nations of the world.

“The outbreak of Coronavirus has severely affected the world economy to the extent that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has warned that the Pandemic is far more than a health crisis: it is affecting societies and economies at their core. It further warned that without urgent socio-economic responses, global suffering will escalate, jeopardising lives and livelihoods for years to come”, Simplice noted.

“At the local scene, the negative effects of the Pandemic are glaring including the inability of taxpayers to fulfil their tax obligations as and when due”, she added.

“No wonder, the Federal Government had initiated a number of proactive measures particularly, the recent approval of the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) by the Federal Executive Council.

Furthermore, tax authorities at the federal and state levels have been responsive in handling this situation resulting in the initiation of measures towards mitigating the effects on taxpayers.

“These measures range from extending the period for filing tax returns, waivers of penalties, extension of the period for due tax payments, tax waivers for small businesses and so on”, CITN president said.

She said that with these developments, “it is important as tax professionals that we should be abreast of daily developments in the tax terrain otherwise we would be on the disadvantaged side.”