kinggenesis:


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.


http://www.punchng.com/news/firs-to-audit-companies/

mrvitalis:
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

laudate:
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...



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!

seunmsg:

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.

when they know it takes 6 months to 2 years for WHT certificates to be issued by the same tax office!

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.

mrvitalis:
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

Bevista:
AlphaBeta loading...

GabrielSuswam:
Nice job...

Most Firms evade tax in Nigeria

Diversification Loading...................................

laudate:


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??

laudate:


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??

Bevista:
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!

Bevista:
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.

laudate:


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.

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?

Bevista:
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.

laudate:

Where are the leakages, and what are the loopholes? Can you identify them??

Bevista:
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.

Bevista:
[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

laudate:


[b]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. [/b]

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.

seunmsg:


@ 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.

Effect of Multiple Taxation on the Performance of Small and Medium Scale Business Enterprises.
_{(A Study of West African Ceramics Ajeokuta, Kogi State) | By J.F Adebisi, Director- General, Nigerian college of Accountancy, Jos, Nigeria and D.O. Gbegi, Department of Accounting, Kogi State University, Anyigba, Nigeria | Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences ISSN 2039-9340(Print) ISSN 2039-2117(Online)}

In recent times, the world economy has developed tremendously and this has been linked with activities of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), especially in developing countries. A Study carried out by the Federal Office of Statistics shows that in Nigeria, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises make up 97% of the economy (Ariyo, 2005).

Although smaller in size, they are the most important enterprises in the economy due to the fact that when all the individual effects are aggregated, they surpass that of the larger companies. The social and economic advantages of small and medium scale enterprises cannot be overstated.

Panitchpakdi (2006) sees SMEs as a source of employment, competition, economic dynamism, and innovation which stimulates the entrepreneurial spirit and the diffusion of skills. Because they enjoy a wider geographical presence than big companies, SMEs also contribute to better income distribution. Over the years, small and medium scale enterprises have been an avenue for job creation and the empowerment of Nigeria’s citizens providing about 50% of all jobs in Nigeria and also for local capital formation.

Being highly innovative, they lead to the utilization of our natural resources which in turn translates to increasing the country’s wealth through higher productivity. Small and medium scale enterprises have undoubtedly improved the standard of living of so many people especially those in the rural areas (Ariyo, 2005).

However, the mortality rate of these small firms is very high. According to the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) Nigeria, 80% of SMEs die before their 5th anniversary. Among the factors responsible for these untimely close-ups are tax related issues, ranging from multiple taxations to enormous tax burdens etc. In many government policies, small and medium scale enterprises are usually viewed and treated in the same light as large corporations. However, their size and nature makes them unique. Therefore, in dealing with small and medium scale enterprises, these unique qualities need to be considered.

In levying of taxes for these enterprises in particular, issues that need to be considered are how these tax policies can be designed to bolster the growth of SMEs and the most effective ways to administer them. The importance of SMEs as a mechanism of economic growth and development is often ignored.

They are perceived as minute establishments, that have minimal effect on the state of the economy. However, if favorable environment is created for these SMEs to grow through proper regulation, the SMEs sector has the highest propensity to transform our economy.

In the same light, taxes are important for the government as they are the major source of funds for government expenditure. Income obtained from taxation of individuals and businesses are used to run governments as well as provide infrastructure such as good roads, water supply, and electricity which are essential for the smooth running of these businesses that are mainly manufacturing companies and as such rely on these commodities to survive.
Read the rest here:http://www.mcser.org/journal/index.php/mjss/article/view/310/326