You are here: HomeNews2020 02 19Article 344167

Business News of Wednesday, 19 February 2020

Source: www.mynigeria.com

FIRS Chairman widens tax net, orders contractors to pay CIT, Withholding Tax, others

Nami and Sanwo-Olu at Alausa, Ikeja Nami and Sanwo-Olu at Alausa, Ikeja

Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Muhammad Nami, has set his sights on government contractors as he seeks to rack up more revenue for the Government.

Nami ordered revenue collecting agencies to deduct withholding tax and CIT from their contractors at the point of payment and promptly send them to the Federal Inland Revenue Service in a lump sum rather than staggered payments as it is the current practice.

He made this declaration while he met with Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday.

Nami noted that a few multinational have been avoiding taxation since 2011 and promised to track them down.

“The FIRS and the Lagos State government need to collaborate to map out strategies to tax these tax-evading companies, whose goods and services we all consume or patronise and who also use public infrastructure to do their business but yet repatriate their profits home.

“We need to tax them so that we can have the fund to combat insecurity, build and maintain public infrastructure and provide social amenities for Nigerians,” the FIRS boss said.

He also charged the National Airspace Management Agency and similar collecting agencies to increase their diligence in collecting offshore taxation from service providers based outside Nigeria.

“If you don’t take offshore tax from them, they will take it back to their countries and pay it there. But we need this money more in Nigeria to fight insecurity, build public infrastructure and provide social amenities for our people,” Nama added.