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The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Free Zones Authority, Amb. Michael Ocquaye, has said Nigerian businessmen who have accused Ghanaian authorities of frequent harassment and persecution are defaulters who have been found culpable of evading taxes and flouting the laid-down rules for doing business in the country.

The former Ghanaian ambassador to India said this during the Ghana Nigeria Business Council CEO Forum held in Lagos on Wednesday.

He said, “If you rent a shop in Nigeria or anywhere and you don’t pay, and the owner comes to harass you, and then you change the matter to be that he doesn’t like Nigerians, I don’t think that’s the issue. When you have to pay tax and you haven’t paid, don’t change the story to say it is Ghanaians who don’t like Nigerians, because we love Nigerians.

“In fact, there are so many Nigerians doing well in Ghana. Dangote is in Ghana. He pays his tax; so nobody is asking him questions. But when you don’t pay and we ask you and then you say Ghanaians are driving Nigerians out.”

He added, “I just want to make this clear that we want law-abiding Nigerians. Let me make this very clear, as ambassador to India, one of the greatest offenders of the Indian laws of business are Nigerians. The Nigerian ambassador always comes to me to complain and say, ‘Oh my people, they always want to play with the law.’ If you play with the law, the law will catch you.

“So, we have a good synergy, but we don’t want people to change the story from what it actually is, and if there are any matters, we will resolve those as we continue. If you come to Ghana and do armed robbery or fraud, we will lock you. But when you come to Ghana and do some good business with us, you pay your taxes, you pay your property rates, you will live in Ghana for five hundred years and nobody will ask if you are Ghanaian or not.”

Also speaking, the Consul-General of Ghana in Lagos, Madam Samata Bukari, said the Ghanaian government had always prioritized maintaining diplomatic relations with its West African neighbours.



The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Free Zones Authority, Amb. Michael Ocquaye, has said Nigerian businessmen who have accused Ghanaian authorities of frequent harassment and persecution are defaulters who have been found culpable of evading taxes and flouting the laid-down rules for doing business in the country.

The former Ghanaian ambassador to India said this during the Ghana Nigeria Business Council CEO Forum held in Lagos on Wednesday.

He said, “If you rent a shop in Nigeria or anywhere and you don’t pay, and the owner comes to harass you, and then you change the matter to be that he doesn’t like Nigerians, I don’t think that’s the issue. When you have to pay tax and you haven’t paid, don’t change the story to say it is Ghanaians who don’t like Nigerians, because we love Nigerians.

“In fact, there are so many Nigerians doing well in Ghana. Dangote is in Ghana. He pays his tax; so nobody is asking him questions. But when you don’t pay and we ask you and then you say Ghanaians are driving Nigerians out.”

He added, “I just want to make this clear that we want law-abiding Nigerians. Let me make this very clear, as ambassador to India, one of the greatest offenders of the Indian laws of business are Nigerians. The Nigerian ambassador always comes to me to complain and say, ‘Oh my people, they always want to play with the law.’ If you play with the law, the law will catch you.

“So, we have a good synergy, but we don’t want people to change the story from what it actually is, and if there are any matters, we will resolve those as we continue. If you come to Ghana and do armed robbery or fraud, we will lock you. But when you come to Ghana and do some good business with us, you pay your taxes, you pay your property rates, you will live in Ghana for five hundred years and nobody will ask if you are Ghanaian or not.”

Also speaking, the Consul-General of Ghana in Lagos, Madam Samata Bukari, said the Ghanaian government had always prioritised maintaining diplomatic relations with its West African neighbours.

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The Chief Judge (CJ) of the Federal High Court (FHC), Honorable Justice J.T. Tsoho, recently approved the FHC Tax Appeal (Procedure) Rules, 2022 ("the Rules", pursuant to his powers under Section 44(1) & (2) of the FHC Act and Paragraph 17(5) of the Fifth Schedule to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) (Establishment) Act. This follows the FHC (FIRS) Practice Directions, 2021 issued by the CJ in May 2021.

The Rules repeals the FHC (Tax Appeal) Rules, 1992 effective 10 January 2022, and provides guidance on the preparation of notices of appeal against decisions of the Tax Appeal Tribunal ("TAT", and other issues relating to the commencement and prosecution of tax appeals at the FHC.

The most significant change introduced by the Rules is the requirement under Order V, Rule 1 for tax debtors to deposit any judgment debt from the TAT's ruling in an interest yielding account of the FHC as a security deposit for prosecuting an appeal. Rule 1 also provides that an appeal may be struck out or dismissed where a taxpayer fails to make such security deposit.

Some other notable changes introduced in the Rules include:

1. Provision for accelerated hearing of tax appeals and limitation of oral arguments to clarification of points in parties' briefs of argument;

2. Introduction of electronic means for service of court processes and hearing notices such as SMS, emails, WhatsApp or other platform as advised by the Court.

3. Reduction of timelines for the service of appellants' and respondents' written briefs from 30 days each to 15 days each.

4. Specification of timelines for transmission of records of appeal to the FHC.

5. Update of the definition of some of the terms in the Rules.

Comments
The downturn in global petroleum markets in recent years and its attendant impact on the Nigerian economy has caused the Nigerian government to pay closer attention to generating revenue from non-oil sources. This is evidenced by the consistent and incremental updates made to existing tax laws by the Finance Acts 2019, 2020 and 2021. The amendment of the FHC (Tax Appeal) Rules aligns with the overall policy direction of the government in improving tax administration in Nigeria.

However, the requirement for taxpayers to pay TAT judgment debts into court before appeals can be heard would likely fetter the right of aggrieved taxpayers to lawfully challenge the TAT's adverse decisions. Given the current economic climate, taxpayers may be constrained by business exigencies from depositing such economic lifelines to court. Indeed, it is arguable that this requirement may be a breach of taxpayers' fundamental right to fair hearing guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution, given that the FIRS would not be required to make similar deposits to court.

Some of the innovations under the new Rules, such as the provision for electronic service of documents and accelerated hearings, are commendable because they aim to ease adjudication of tax disputes. However, the Rules can go further by including provisions for electronic payments for filings and virtual/online court proceedings, to keep in tune with the current realities.

Undoubtedly, the Rules has some merits for its intended purpose of expediting the tax litigation process and revenue generation in challenging times such as this. However, it is hoped that the CJ would revisit the Rules to ensure that the rights of taxpayers are balanced in an equitable manner against the revenue generation drive of the government.

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The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, has disowned claims that it seeks to regulate tax practice, among others in Nigeria.

In a statement made available to Vanguard, Registrar/Chief Executive, ICAN, Prof. Ahmed Kumshe, explained that it approached the National Assembly for the amendment of its enabling Act where a public hearing took place at the House of Representatives, Abuja on Wednesday, February 2,2022.

He said that the Institute was only seeking to enhance the professional competence of its members in view of the dynamic nature of the profession, to keep them abreast of new developments, enable them function better in the Public Interest and compete favorably with other professionals globally.

He added that this would enhance the economic growth and outlook of Nigeria in attracting the best investors to the country, help provide employment for Nigerians, increase the country’s international rating on transparency and ease of doing business as well as curb corrupt practices in the country, among several other benefits.

Kumshe stated: “We wish to inform all stakeholders that ICAN does not want to regulate tax practice in Nigeria. ICAN only seeks its members to continue to practice tax as they have been doing right from 1965. Tax has been an integral part of accounting right from inception in Nigeria and globally.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to assure other allied Professional Bodies that ICAN is not planning to take over their responsibility, we are only interested in regulating our members practicing the different arms of the Accounting profession as it obtains in other climes.”

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The Federal Inland Revenue Service has hinted of plans by the agency to start collecting road infrastructure tax in Nigeria to make the informal sector contribute to building a modern society.
Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Muhammad Nami, said the agency had sent in a proposal to this effect to the Federal Government.
Those in the informal sector are commercial bus drivers, artisans such as traders, local builders, dressmakers, hairdressers and vulcanizers among others in the low socio-economic stratum.
In a statement signed by Johannes Wojuola, media aide to the FIRS chairman, Nami stated this on Thursday while receiving a delegation of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by Chris Isiguzo, the National President, in his office, in Abuja.
According to the statement, Nami said the proposed road infrastructure tax to be administered by FIRS would provide the government with adequate funding for road construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance.
The statement added that the scheme would also provide the needed security for roads in the country.
“The only way to make the informal sector contribute to building a modern society is by making them pay when they use the roads,” Nami said.
“That is why we are proposing that government should consider introducing Road Infrastructure Tax in Nigeria.
“In many jurisdictions, road users pay for the use of road infrastructure as such it shouldn’t be seen as an additional burden on our citizens because it has the potential of making life better for all of us.”
Nami stated also said the economy heavily relied on non-oil revenues to discharge its statutory responsibility of paying salaries and providing social amenities to the citizenry.
“Without the tax that you pay, governments at all levels would not be able to fulfill their mandate to the electorates. Tax money also helps to ensure the roads you travel are safe and always in good condition,” he added.
Nami also stated that despite sharp practices by some companies who were in the habit of evading taxes, by shifting their capital and profits to tax havens, as well as low revenue from Petroleum Profit Tax, due to the shortfall in crude oil production among other factors, the FIRS has been putting forward critical reforms that have been yielding positive impact on the Service’s operations.

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The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday, declared that Nigeria’s eight per cent tax-to-Gross Domestic Product ratio was among the lowest globally and that efforts were on to increase this figure.

He also stated that the Federal Inland Revenue Service exceeded its tax collection target last year, as it was able to collect N6.405tn from taxpayers nationwide.

Osinbajo spoke at the public lecture organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria in Abuja to commemorate the institute’s 40th anniversary.

“Today, lessons from countries that are dependent solely on revenue from oil have proven to be quite instructive,” the Vice President, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Aliyu Ahmed, said.

He added, “Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio is still one of the lowest in the world, at about eight per cent, while our contemporaries are in the neighbourhood of 16 to 25 per cent, even in Africa. We can surely do better.”

He said tax was an important fiscal tool that could be described as a more sustainable means of achieving national development.

“This is especially since we know that oil which was and is our mainstay is a dwindling resource and because the rest of the world is moving away from fossil fuel,” Osinbajo stated.

He said the government’s objective of widening the tax base was to ensure improved revenue collection through voluntary compliance in line with international best practice.

He said, “We are happy with the results of sustained efforts towards enhancing tax compliance despite the global economic challenges occasioned by COVID-19 as well as the disruption of business activities in 2020 by the nationwide protests.

“None the less, tax administration has made significant improvement in collections as the Federal Inland Revenue Service was able to exceed its collection target for the year 2021 with a record collection of N6.105tn in both oil and non-oil reven

“This was achieved through strategic, administrative and operational reforms, shared hard work and political will, as well as the support to the FIRS, among other relevant revenue collection agencies.”

Osinbajo, however, noted that revenue generation challenge remained the major fiscal constraint of the Federal Government.

“In this regard, government remains committed to the implementation of the strategic revenue growth initiative,” he stated.

The Vice President added, “A robust tax system is a prerequisite for an economy that is desirous and genuinely committed to growth and development.”

The President, CITN, Adesina Adedayo, said the institute was adding value to national development in regulating the tax profession and bringing taxation issues to the front burner.
“Therefore, we consider it worthwhile to reflect over the past years, celebrate what we have achieved, take cognisance of our shortcomings and to continuously reposition the institute for the next level of greatness,” he stated.

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The Senate, Wednesday, approved the sum of N215, 811, 290, 243 billion as budget for the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for the 2022 fiscal year.

The approval followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on Finance during plenary.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (APC Lagos West), in his presentation, said out of the amount approved, N119,684,218,735 was for personnel cost; N60,160,518,057 for overhead cost; and N35,966,553,451 for capital cost.

He stated that the 2022 projected Cost of Collection of N215.81 billion was slightly lower than the 2021 approved revenue which stood at N216.65bn.

He explained that the difference represents a Cost of Collection (CoC) decrease of N840 million on the overall projected non-oil revenue.

Adeola disclosed that personnel cost was based on staff strength on the payroll including social benefits such as NHIS, Pension contribution among others, and anticipated performance bonus for the year.

He attributed the increase in overhead projection to the need for more robust operational activities which has a direct relationship with overhead budget lines such as electricity tariff, generator fuel cost, legal services due to tax disputes, local travels and transport and critical ones that relate directly to tax collection and administration.

The lawmaker added that capital cost estimates reported include on-going and new projects which are to be executed during the 2022 financial year.

“These are a result of expected completion of projects, payment of retention on completed projects and some new projects for effective revenue drive”, he said.

Giving a review of the 2021 budget performance of the FIRS, Adeola said, “the service collected N4.53 trillion as at 31st October, 2021 out of the total projected revenue target of N7.61 trillion which represents 60 percent achievement.

“The performance based on the target for the period of N6.34 trillion represents 71 percent achievement.

“The non-oil component of the tax collected stands at N3.5 trillion and represents 63% achievement of total non-oil revenue target of N5.6 trillion.”


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