Follow realities, FCMB urges entrepreneurs

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has urged business owners in Nigeria to keep pace with current and emerging realities in the corporate environment, especially on taxation, to make their businesses competitive.

FCMB made the submission at a virtual tax seminar it organised in partnership with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

The seminar, the third in the series, had the theme, “Tax and Your Business: An In-depth Discussion”.  It provided a platform to equip over 500 entrepreneurs with requisite knowledge of taxation.

The Director, Taxpayers Service Department at FIRS, Mrs. Saadatu Yero enlightened participants on the importance of obtaining Tax Identification Number (TIN) by SMEs.

“The TIN helps businesses to make easy payment over different platforms such as Remita, e-transact and Paydirect. It is also an important requirement when businesses request for a credit note for tax reconciliation, offsetting of tax debt and claim processing.”

Acting Director, Special Taxes Department at FIRS, Mr. Adamu Kudu said: “in order for the FIRS to discharge its functions, the taxation process has been redesigned to encourage voluntary compliance. Most of the obligations have been automated not only to induce efficiency in service delivery but to also reduce the compliance burden on taxpayers.”

Divisional Head, Transaction Banking at FCMB, Mrs. Rolayo Akhigbe, said the bank considers it imperative to ensure that customers in the SME segment follow due process and compliance in the conduct of their businesses.

The Group Head, Business Banking, FCMB, Mr. George Ogbonnaya, assured SMEs that the lender is fully committed to building capacity in the area of tax.