Stakeholders seek collaboration on tax governance challenges

Operators and other stakeholders in the tax sector in the country have been urged to evolve practical ways of overcoming challenges over the nation benefitting from tax and taxation in the country.

The made the call on Thursday in Abuja at a capacity building workshop for tax practitioners, organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN).

Speaking at the event, which was equally hosted via zoom, a Senior Partner, Ascension Consulting Services, Azeez Alatoye, said that professional relationships with tax authorities is key in delivering consistent results on client assignments.

“When it comes to running and managing a successful tax practice or tax department, there is a need for the right tools and resources to manage ay-to-day functions covering the key Critical Success Factors (CSF),” Alatoye said.

He added that despite the lucrativeness of managing a tax practice, it is not without its own challenges and that in today’s business environment, tax firms face numerous business challenges, which must be practically addresses to ensure quality service delivery.

Speaking on “Engaging and Communicating with Tax Authorities and other Regulators” Mr.

Chukwuedo Henry, a Chartered Accountants, said that from the study, it was advised that the Tax Administrator’s approach to administering tax legislation and regulations should shift from a “command and control” posture to a “responsive” form referred to as “Enhanced Relationship” Model.

“Therefore, they should develop a climate of mutual trust and respect. The approach is expected to promote voluntary compliance and enhance efficiency of tax administration. It should be a form of partnership devoid of any form of hostility and the focus should be on extending assistance to compliant tax payers and punishing the recalcitrant, deviant tax payers” Henry said.

On revenue generation, he said that tax administrators and regulators should employ the services of tax practitioners in the conception, planning and implementation of tax revenue enhancement schemes.

On his part, the Honourable Treasurer, CITN Coordinating Director, General Services Group, FIRS, Mr. Innocent Ohagwa, said that the increased use of tax practitioners over the past decade suggests that more and more taxpayers are seeking their advice on the application of tax legislation and assistance to ensure that they file accurate returns.

“This confirms that tax practitioners are well positioned to influence the

compliance decisions of taxpayers. However, studies have shown that there is a disparity between the type of advice preferred by taxpayers and that provided by tax practitioners and in many cases the tax practitioners bend in favour of the taxpayer.

“This disparity between the type of advice preferred by taxpayers and that provided by tax

practitioners are what creates a conflict between the expectations of the tax administrator and the taxpayers begins,” Ohagwa said.

Also, Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader, PwC, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, said that the blind spots and others that must be overcomed include overconfidence about inherent morality or lack of awareness about your ethical weaknesses can lead to unethical behaviour. Oyedele said, “Also, your emotions can cloud your ability to think rationally and ethically. Unintended support for unethical actions, such as failure to act such as feeling you’re not responsible for unethical work outsourced to others, for example, use of a 3rd party contractor to pay a bribe.

“Also, a gradual descent into unethical behaviour due to failure to address small ethical missteps that may set the conditions for greater mis-behaviour, for example, not giving small change to customers for purchases.”

While the keynote address was delivered by the CITN President, Dame Gladys Olajumoke Simplice, physical and virtual attendees were welcome by the Chairman, Taxation Standard and Practice Monitoring Committee, CITN, Dr. Justina Okoror.