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Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by kinggenesis(m): 4:54pm On Sep 06, 2015 |
The Federal Inland Revenue Service on Sunday disclosed plans to carry out a special audit of all companies operating in the country. The audit, which will be carried out by the service in collaboration with Audit Firms and Tax Consultants, is aimed at increasing the level of compliance with the relevant tax laws, thus improving tax revenue for the country. A statement from the FIRS signed by the Director, Communications and Servicom Department, Mr. Emmanuel Obeta, explained that the decision to carry out the exercise was reached after a meeting between the Acting Executive Chairman, FIRS, Mr. Babatunde Fowler; and audit firms, chartered accountants, tax consultants and other professional Service providers. The statement stated that the audit would be carried out within 30 days and would take into consideration the various year ends and peak points of activities of the various companies. Fowler, according to the statement, pointed out that the collaboration between the professional service providers, states board of internal revenue and FIRS, would mark a turning point for taxation as well as reduce the country’s reliance on oil. The statement reads in part, “The meeting focused on the need to harmonise exchange of information across all the revenue authorities as well as ensuring a synchronised auditing of all the various companies in the country. “At the end of their meetings agreed to share information with members of National Assembly, particularly on tax laws in collaboration with other professional bodies as well as relevant stakeholders. “They also resolved that FIRS, State Revenue Boards and the various audit firms will carry out joint audits of the various companies to ensure accuracy of the exercise, enhance transparency and drive compliance. “These audits will be completed within 30 days and will take cognisance of the various year ends and peak points of activities of the various companies.” Fowler, according to the statement, said the input from stakeholders was necessary for the expansion of the nation’s tax net, information dissemination, building capacity of tax administration as well as sharing information that would promote voluntary compliance. Through partnership and consultations with the relevant stakeholders, the Acting FIRS Boss said, there would be a significant improvement in tax revenue and tax administration. http://www.punchng.com/news/firs-to-audit-companies/ 1 Like |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by OZAOEKPE(f): 4:55pm On Sep 06, 2015 |
"PMB is a terrorist", Quote me anywhere. |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by mrvitalis(m): 5:18pm On Sep 06, 2015 |
Woo this Is what we are supposed to have years ago. .. ... .. . I bet u internally generated revenue in this country will be more than 10tr if well tracked.... . ... Then we can stop depending on oil and let each state manage their resources 5 Likes |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by yanabasee(m): 5:22pm On Sep 06, 2015 |
kinggenesis:. . Buhari is still witch-hunting.... He should rather concentrate on the affairs of this country to deliver his set plans for Nigeria rather than takin more days and months doing nothing.... Another 30days for witch-hunting... Till this year runs out... We'll never, I mean NEVER feel Buhari's governance. |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by Nobody: 6:10pm On Sep 06, 2015 |
Sai Buhari 1 Like |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by laudate: 6:50pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
The witch hunt is targeted at all Nigerian companies. In my opinion, this is a clueless exercise. The audit firms and tax consultants will just make money at the expense of the state, after harrassing, intimidating and extorting money from the companies, especially the SME ones! Stewpid FIRS people... More companies will fold up, and more jobs will be lost. Daft people... mrvitalis: You have either never run a structured company before in Nigeria, or you have never been visited by FIRS or LIRS Tax officials who are determined to increase their revenue drive, by hook or by crook. The law-abiding companies are the ones who often bear the brunt at the end of the day. It does not matter how much tax you have been paying before, they will still conjure up all sorts of reasons to ask for new taxes and make you look like a defaulter! |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by ArodewilliamsT: 7:08pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
You won't provide jobs, yet the ones that provide legitimate jobs for themselves, you want to regulate them out of existence with needless bureaucracies. The ones who are planning to provide jobs for themselves then become discouraged and remain in the labour market. Yet you chant "Sai Job creation!" You'll preach about graduates providing jobs for themselves on TV and radios and yet still be the one trying to suffocate the businesses they are trying to nurture. Black Africans! Very senseless set of things! |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by seunmsg(m): 7:24pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
laudate: Tax audit is a legitimate responsibility of the revenue generating body, (FIRS or SBIR). It is a statutory duty that has always been done in the past so, this is not new. No tax auditor can increase your tax burden by hook or crook. The reality actually is that MOST companies in the country evade paying the appropriate tax due from them by hook or crook. The companies are the culprit here and not the tax authority. 3 Likes |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by laudate: 11:06pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
seunmsg: Totally untrue! All they need to do is to inform you that you were wrongly assessed previously, and then they draw up a new set of assessment and ask you to pay. Secondly, they can use the excuse of incomplete remittance of WHT to create issues for your company. Even when it is obvious that your clients and those you have carried out services for, have deducted the appropriate WHT from your final bill, the tax officials will still refuse to acknowledge this fact and ask for WHT certificates, when they know it takes 6 months to 2 years for WHT certificates to be issued by the same tax office! Another area of dispute is items, products and services that are vatable or non-vatable. Products like LPG gas for example, have the VAT deducted at source (i.e. at point of importation by the major marketers or LPG Gas Storage Depot), but let a tax official come to your office on a revenue drive. They will argue with you till kingdom come, on why you have to remit VAT on the same product whose VAT has been deducted at source! And you end up paying double VAT. Don't forget about the levies, education tax etc. The local govt officials are the worst! They are thugs in disguise. If you fail to pay their multiple levies, you are in trouble and they can seal up your premises. Even the state tax officials are in league with them. Multiple taxes, duplicated levies etc bearing all kinds of names are conjured up daily at local govt level and even sometimes at state level. Till today, the controversy over sales tax being a consumption tax and VAT , is yet to be fully resolved, yet Lagos State tax officials insist on collecting that 5% sales tax from different establishments especially those that sell beverages and meals. Abeg, I don tire... When more businesses start to close down as a result of the shenanigans of tax officials, maybe their eyes will become clear. |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by laudate: 11:18pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
A friend of mine who was recently laid off from work decided to venture into private business. She dusted up an old company name she had registered some years back, but never used. She went to the bank to try and open an account but they asked for a TIN (i.e. Tax Identification Number). Okay, so she went to the nearest tax office. You need to see the huge bill they gave her. About =N=25,000 naira multiplied by the number of years that had gone by, since she registered the business. The total sum ran into hundreds of thousands of naira. All her arguments, that she had never used the company to carry out any business fell on deaf ears at the tax office. Well, she did not have the kind of money the tax people were demanding, so she went back home. And that is how her dream of becoming an entrepreneur was dashed. Think of the number of jobs she would have been able to create if she had been able to open her bank account and set up her business. Why can't TIN Numbers be issued directly at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) offices, on the same day that the RC number is issued? What would it cost to have a tax representative at the CAC Offices nationwide to help educate, inform and assist people appropriately?? |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by Bevista: 11:26pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
The audit, which will be carried out by the service in collaboration with Audit Firms and Tax Consultants, is aimed at increasing the level of compliance with the relevant tax laws, thus improving tax revenue for the country.AlphaBeta loading... 1 Like |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by Bevista: 11:28pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
mrvitalis:South Africa generates more revenue from Taxes than we generate from Oil. If South Africa with a GDP of $350b and a population of 45million can have an annual budget equivalent to N10Trillion, then why should Nigeria with a GDP of $560b and a population of over 170million have an annual budget of less than N5Trillion? Just plain embarrassing! |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by laudate: 11:29pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
Bevista: Correct! You get am! Your post make sense, die! |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by GabrielSuswam(m): 11:30pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
Nice job... Most Firms evade tax in Nigeria Diversification Loading................................... |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by laudate: 11:38pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
GabrielSuswam: Most firms evade tax in Nigeria? That is the propaganda that tax officials use to console themselves. How many companies are duly registered by the way, in Nigeria?? How many are fully functional?? Or running skeletal services? How many have closed shop due to unfavourable tax policies, hostile business environment and insolvency, yet tax officials still believe they are in operation and are yet to pay taxes? How many have paid their taxes up to date? How many have problems paying their taxes? In what way has the FIRS made it easy for these people to pay their taxes? How many tax officials are corrupt, and how many collude with defaulters? How much assistance does FIRS give to taxpayers to enable them pay their taxes with ease?? How many taxpayers have enjoyed any tax rebates in any area?? |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by GabrielSuswam(m): 11:43pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
laudate: Bro yeaaa there is corruption in Nigeria but most evade... Politics aside plssssss 2 Likes |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by Bevista: 11:43pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
laudate:Your comments throughout the thread has been particularly negative. While I do appreciate that you raise some salient points, most of your comments appear alarmist. Nigeria still has a relatively low Company Income Tax (@ 30%) compared to other countries. Our VAT is still a miserly 5% when Ghanians pay as much as 17%. We don't even pay ridiculous taxes such as Property Tax, Vehicle Tax, etc. Payment of taxes is a statutory obligation of every private and corporate citizen of a country. FIRS is not talking about tax increase but merely to enforce the law. Most countries with lower unemployment rates have higher tax rates and more efficient tax collection than Nigeria, so your argument that this will lead to job losses does not necessarily hold true. 2 Likes |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by laudate: 11:46pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
Bevista: SA has more businesses, which operate in an environment with better infrastructure and as such, they can generate more revenue, which in turn helps them to pay higher taxes. What is the level of infrastructure in our country? Are you aware that the poor level of infrastructure has killed more businesses in this country than in South Africa? How much power does SA generate for its 45 million people? Compare that with what is generated here. And compare that with the number of businesses that generate their power, water, security, etc. in Nigeria What about the wage levels? Janitors in SA earn more than cleaners here, so who do you think would be in a position to pay more taxes? |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by laudate: 11:53pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
Bevista: They are not alarmist. Unlike you, I run an SME so I know the challenges faced on a daily basis by most of my colleagues and myself, within the industry. So 30% company tax is low to you??!! Wow! And who told you Nigerians do not pay property tax? What is Land Use Charge and Tenement Rate meant to be? These are payable annually, o! When a person dies intestate and his next of kin want to apply for letters of administration, do you know what they pay? A blanket 10% - 15% of the cost of the property is paid at the probate office before such letters are issued! And it takes the govt over 8 months to 2 years to process! You can imagine what they are raking in, if each of the properties cost between 10 million to 40 million! Guy, go and run a structured business first and deal with aggressive tax officials before coming to preach on NL! Tax officials should first of all think of making it easier for more people to pay taxes first, before thinking of increasing taxes. |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by Bevista: 11:55pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
laudate:This is exactly why I support efficient and prudent fiscal policies. If we block all loopholes and leakages from even the abysmal business environment which we currently have, Nigeria should generate more revenues than we are currently generating. This revenue will hence be used to invest in infrastructure that will attract and encourage more investment. More investment will lead to widening of the tax base and thus result in more tax revenue. |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by laudate: 11:58pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
Bevista: Where are the leakages, and what are the loopholes? Can you identify them?? Do you realise that even the tax officials make it difficult for people to pay accurate taxes?? |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by Bevista: 12:01am On Sep 08, 2015 |
[s]They are not alarmist. Unlike you, I run an SME so I know the challenges faced on a daily basis by most of my colleagues and myself, within the industry.[/s] I will hesitate to join issues with you @ the bolded. I can see you overate yourself without knowing what others are doing. [s]So 30% company tax is low to you??!! Wow![/s] In my comment, I used the term "relatively lower". So yes, compared to most other countries, out corporate tax is relatively low [s]And who told you Nigerians do not pay property tax? What is Land Use Charge and Tenement Rate meant to be? [/s] Atleast it is not enforceable country-wide like most other countries |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by Bevista: 12:06am On Sep 08, 2015 |
laudate:I take it that you consider the system is being currently run efficiently. Since, in your judgement, there are no leakages and loopholes currently in the way we implement our fiscal policies, I will not insult your sensibilities by trying to mention them. |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by manck2: 12:09am On Sep 08, 2015 |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by manck2: 12:12am On Sep 08, 2015 |
[size=38pt]FIRS would need over new 50 offices in Igboland [/size] www.nairaland.com/attachments/2820246_osha3_jpeg95054b608d53805e924900994c5b8586 |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by laudate: 12:21am On Sep 08, 2015 |
Bevista: There was nothing in my post that stated that our tax system is being run efficiently. Maybe you can point out where I stated that in chapter and verse. I am just tired of people jumping on the bandwagon because they want their voices to be heard, not because they have thought through the problems or have cogent solutions. People who sit down behind their cosy desks and earn a wage irrespective of how their companies perform, cannot understand what it means for an entrepreneur to pound the streets daily, worry about his balance sheet, his workers' wages, his clients' orders, repayment of loans, unsold inventory and provision of infrastructure to drive his daily operations. After struggling to keep his head above water, then he still has to contend with hungry-looking, aggressive tax officials from state and local govt levels who believe their job is to harass and blackmail the entrepreneur into agreement with whatever tax assessment or levies, they present!! Yet, those sitting comfortably behind a desk are the ones who spout theories about the business environment and taxes, when such subjects come up! Jeez! Gimme a break! |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by laudate: 12:48am On Sep 08, 2015 |
Bevista: Good, please do NOT join issues with me as you have no idea of the reality that most SMEs face. And keep your relatively lower tax band to yourself. In Norway and Finland where taxes are almost 50%, corporate businesses know that finding or attracting high calibre people to join their workforce has been a challenge, because of the high tax rates. But then, their own taxes are spent to improve the lives of the citizenry, unlike in Nigeria where our taxes end up in private pockets of politicians, administrators and their cronies. Plug the loopholes that allow the politicians pilfer our taxes (e.g. via Alpha Beta) and see if our tax revenues won't grow. Land Use Charge has been enforced everywhere in Lagos State, Abuja and capital of Edo State. I can't speak for other parts of the country. But nothing stops them from doing so, if they can convince people to pay those taxes on their ancestral homes as well. And if they have enough taxable adults whose income is adequate to make such payments. By the way, whose fault is it, if Land use Charge is not enforceable in certain parts of the country? Is it the fault of the taxpayers or the tax administrators that cannot be bothered to sensitise people on the need, model or appropriate method of paying it? People always talk of paying taxes...what is the employment rate? What is the proportion of people that have jobs and are paying taxes? What is the proportion of people that do NOT have jobs and cannot pay taxes? |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by seunmsg(m): 7:34am On Sep 08, 2015 |
laudate: @ the part in bold, are you joking or just ignorant? On what basis will they raise the new/additional assessment? It seems you are very ignorant of how tax assessments are done. FYI, most companies file their tax returns based on self assessment. When FIRS receive the return, they review it and determine if your return is adequate for that type/size of company. If they are not satisfied, they can carry out a tax audit and on that basis, raise additional assessment on the company. Stop arguing unnecessarily, tax audit is backed by all relevant tax laws. If your company is not satisfied with whatever assessment that was given to them, they can approach the tax appeal tribunal. |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by laudate: 8:02am On Sep 08, 2015 |
seunmsg: Guy, you are the ignorant one sitting behind a desk that lacks true knowledge about what goes on in the real world. After the company has filed its tax returns, these tax officials still show up in the company's offices at will under a different guise using all sorts of excuses. Go to Apapa area in Lagos and you will understand what I mean. FIRS guys are still slightly better than LIRS and local govt. Please get off your high horse and talk to owners of SMEs about their ordeal in the hands of various tax officials from the federal, to the state govt and local govt level. Do you think the fact that you have filed your tax returns appropriately and paid them, means anything to the local govt tax officials, when they storm your premises?? Or do you want to take the local govt people to the tax appeal tribunal?? Obviously, you have never been at the receiving end of their antics, or you are a tax man yourself, which is why you are arguing in this manner. |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by omowolewa: 8:35am On Sep 08, 2015 |
This is the statutory duty of any Tax authority. Companies should get a good tax Accountant, adviser or prepare to rub palms. |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by Mogten(m): 9:01am On Sep 08, 2015 |
A welcome development. If effectively managed, this should translate in higher tax returns and consequently, increased government revenue. Were those in charge of Nigeria's revenue houses of utmost good faith, we could be raking in income somewhere in the region of 20-30% of total revenue from tax sources alone. |
Re: Tax: FIRS To Audit All Companies by laudate: 9:31am On Sep 08, 2015 |
Effect of Multiple Taxation on the Performance of Small and Medium Scale Business Enterprises. |
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