BABATUNDE FOWLER: THE TAX MAYOR

I attended a function, it was quite interesting that I paid all attention to the moderator, he had a lot to talk about as far as the event was concerned and good reasons to diversify from the theme, he got to an aspect where he’d like to say much about his business experience but as much as the man wanted to talk he was held back by something, I had the thought that he kept having a probing mind about what he wanted to say, he later went around it and said something else:
“These days you can’t brag much about how well your business is doing or how much It makes as your next message will be from Fowler’s task force”
This actually happened not to be my first time of hearing the name Fowler, I’ve heard about him and what he does, but the extent is what I was never bothered about, so hearing that statement again, I had to go back to the Genesis to enquire about fowler.

Who is Babatunde Fowler?
His appointment as the chairman of the federal inland revenue services came partly as a result of the change emergence in Nigeria, though He has a CV that will most likely stay afloat within a pool of others so his appointment cannot be fully tagged a political influence. The dark complexioned man was born on August 12 1956 to scholar parents, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babatunde_Fowler gives a good account of his background, career and advocacies.

The Fowler Path.
The pure Lagosian breed made his first bones in the private sector as he carved a good niche for himself with the likes of Avon Products (New York), Johnson and Johnson (New Jersey), Credit Lyonnais Nigeria Limited, he signed out of the private sector after touching base with Chattered bank as a general manager in 2004 and he made his first entrance into the public service in 2005 as the permanent Secretary/chairman of Lagos State Board of internal revenue at which he made immense contributions, he later became the pioneer Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service and the Executive Chairman of Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue, within the space of 7 years, he increased the Internally Generated Revenue from N3.6bn to N20.5bn on a monthly average.
He was there till 2014 and later in 2015 called upon to try his skills in generating revenue for the federal government.

The Fowler’s Snare.
Figuratively, fowler’s focus is simply to generate revenue for his employers as much as he can, he is well known for his advocacies, an example was in 2009 when he stressed more on it during an international conference that the government should diversify its interest into IGR even before the period when shrinks in the oil revenue became visible, so now that Federal Government has no option but to look into other areas of revenue, Fowler’s skills became an asset worth more than it was ever cherished.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service which fowler commands is pronounced on daily basis these times more than ever, Accountants receive more calls these days from friends and families seeking explanation for some kind of notice they don’t understand, These days a Business man gets to his office and finds a “Notice from Fowler” (Non Compliance) carefully waiting for him, the man can only observe it’s a federal government notice so he knows it’s a criminal offence to tamper with it, so the next thing he does is to call his accountant friend to seek clarification.
It seems the experience of Tunde Fowler on the streets of Lagos as the Tax collector has made him to classify most numbered Nigerian businesses as non-complying ones as most businesses has the habit of eating the gull bladder even when the law is very clear about what belongs to the government, so for Fowler’s eyes in the FIRS catching on any business suspected to be guilty or not, his task force delivers a notice there, so I think this happens to be the aspect that got the moderator saying one can’t even brag about what he has earned as Fowler boys might be listening.

Babatunde Fowler is on the path of making compliance necessary for existing and potential tax payer, the first thing you do if you get a notice of non-compliance is to head to the tax office and reveal what you have in your closet, the worst lie you can sell to the tax office is that your business has made no single kobo over the years, after then the business will be registered on the FIRS platform, a nil tax filing might be done for you, after this fowler will sit back and watch your business from his desk and see how you won’t pay.
The FIRS under his command has a target of hitting N4.9 trillion by the end of 2016 and With the advent of Online platforms tools and most especially Bank Verification Number, it will be absolutely not possible for businesses to hide what they earn as far as they are registered on the FIRS platform, and once Fowler notices your business, compliance is inevitable, it will be compulsory for you to get registered so at the end you must give unto Cesar what he deserves or you face the wrath of Cesar.

Business: Yours’ and Fowler’s
A single visit and litigation by the FIRS is heavy enough to knock out a business of operation or even destabilize the operation, this is a kind of risk every business needs a cover from and being a very experienced expert in taxation, Babatunde Fowler has begun to destroy relevant covers which businesses hide under and still has a lot of shockers in pipe for tax evaders and for every offence he is gradually increasing the penalty so as to make initial compliance worth more than a penalty.
The point here is that You can’t be saved from fowler, you can only choose to be his friend, a book of wisdom advises to settle thy adversary while you are still on the way as the settlement will be too expensive to bear when he gets you to the judge, it is much cheaper to comply the FIRS than Fowler making you to comply.

There are several advantages accruing to both government and citizens from payment of taxes. According to the FIRS, “The benefits derivable include but are not limited to: Providing sustainable finance and funding for governance, public and social services and economic development; Promoting civic responsibility, patriotism by citizens and social responsibility by corporate citizens; and Stimulating priority social and economic activities and sectors while discouraging less preferred ones.”

So in conclusion, Babatunde Fowler’s led FIRS can be the country’s lifeline out of financial crunch considering the manner of his approach, but the question here is if the government can mend leakages which has always been draining our revenue.

Dotun Omiyale
www.dotunomiyale..com.ng

Credits:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babatunde_Fowler
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/firs-targets-n4-9trn-revenue-2016-2/
http://www.opinionnigeria.com/solutions-to-nigerians-poor-tax-compliance-by-jide-ojo
http://theeagleonline.com.ng/firs-the-fear-of-invading-tax-enforcers-by-yushau-shuaib

One thing i know for sure, it will be hard for nigerians to adjust to this new tax regime.

I still don't understand how we got to this level though.

Taxing is a norm in most countries in the world.