The Lagos State office of Growth and Employment in States, GEMS 3, a UK DFID project, whose goal is to improve the business environment, on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, organised a day workshop in Lagos State for Business Management Organisations (BMOs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other Lagosians on taxes and levies payable in the country.
The workshop, which took place at Ikeja Local Government, had in attendance the members from NACCIMA, LCCI, MAN, AFRED, NMA, NASSI, among others. While welcoming people to the Workshop, GEMS3 official, Mr. Dawud Musa, told the participants that the essence of the workshop was to enlighten Lagosians more on the need to promptly pay their taxes and levies.
According to him, it was also organized to establish cordial or harmonious relationships between the tax payers and tax collectors. He said the objectives are – to sensitize the participants on the various taxes and levies payable to both the state federal government; tax processes and tax authorities; prescribed mechanism for making and amicably resolving complaints relating to tax and levies, and exploring opportunities for bridging any communication gap between tax/rate payers and tax authorities. Other objectives are to generate ideas and share experiences on critical tax and levies issues, and lastly, to empower BMOs and CSOs to educate their members on how to voluntarily and easily comply with all legitimate tax and levies obligations.
While delivering her paper, Barrister (Mrs.) Folashade Afolayan from Lagos State Internal Revenue Service stated that tax is compulsory in order for the government to provide necessary infrastructure and amenities for the citizenry. She further explained that fees are different from taxes, while she opined that citizens should go to Lagos State tax offices nearest to them and declare their taxes honestly so that they can be assessed adequately. She added that by March 31 of every year, a self-employed individual is required by law to file his returns.
In his own paper, Mr. Salami M. A. from the Federal Inland Revenue Service said key tax payers’ obligations included, registration for tax purpose and obtaining tax payer identification number (TIN); keeping correct business records; full voluntary disclosure; filing tax returns and paying taxes on or before the due date; notifying FIRS of change in address, and cooperating with FIRS officials. He also spoke about the rights of Tax Payers in FIRS, amongst other issues.
Also, Mr. Bola Agbabiaka from Lagos State Ministry of Local Government and Communities Affairs spoke on revenue collection at the local government level while the President of Council Treasurers in Lagos State, Mr. Adekoya Adesanya, talked about how to review the relationship between tax payers and Local Government Tax Collectors.
Other discussants at the workshop included, Assistant Director from Lagos State Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Ann Adekanla Momodu; Engr. Taiwo O. from the office of Waste Water Management, Lagos State; Mrs. Ronke Odeneye from Safety Commission, Lagos State, and Mrs. Adebisi Titilayo from the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).
During the question and answer session, the participants had opportunity to bare their minds on various issues of concern about taxation and levies payable to the Federal and State Governments. Their challenges and other related issues were tendered while the discussants took time to attend to them all.