President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his deep concern about the nation’s huge revenue loss due to leakages arising from activities of the revenue generating agencies of government and has now mandated the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other revenue generating agencies to forthwith block such leakages.
Speaking virtually at the First National Tax Dialogue held at the Conference Hall of the State House, Abuja Buhari directed FIRS and related government agencies to block all revenue leakages by ensuring strict compliance with tax payments by foreign companies operating in Nigeria, and deployment of more digital platforms and seamless connections.
In a statement released by Femi Adesina, Media Adviser, President Buhari said:
“It is not enough that our citizens and local businesses pay their fair share of taxes.
“Equally, foreign businesses must also not be allowed to continue to exploit our markets and economy without paying appropriate taxes. Accordingly, the FIRS has my mandate to speedily put all measures in place to fully implement programmes to stamp out Base Erosion and Profit Shifting in all their ramifications and generally automate its tax processes.
“In line with this, I have directed all government agencies and business enterprises to grant FIRS access to their systems for seamless connection. FIRS must ensure that its deployment of technology for automation is done in line with international best practices. In particular, FIRS can borrow a leaf from other countries which have successfully automated their tax processes.’’
