CITN Marks 40th Anniversary, Calls for Enlightenment on Taxation

From Victor Nwegede, Abakaliki

The Abakaliki District Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Barrister George Ukpai, has urged the stakeholders in charge of tax collections to always engage themselves on enlightenment and interaction with the provisions of the law as required while discharging their duties.

Ukpai said this while interacting with journalists after the Abakaliki District members’ Thanksgiving Service at St. Patrick Catholic Parish, Kpirikpiri, as part of commemorating the CITN 40th Anniversary in the country.

He described CITN as a regulatory body of tax payment, not allowing brigaddies as a system of tax collection in the country.

“This body was established to ensure that the law is implemented as much as possible. It’s because when the collection of tax becomes hostile, it becomes one of the challenges in the society, and that’s why we are to ensure that human faces are given the required treatment according to the law.

“To curtail this, a very simple thing should be done – enlightenment, and constant interaction between the stakeholders and the tax payers.

“The stakeholders should be constantly interacting and with the provisions of the law on the requirement. There should be constant interaction between the two parties, to ensure that a mutual relationship exists between the tax collectors and tax payers.”

He recommended use of persuasive approach by the tax administrators in carrying out taxation, pointing that, “the unenlightened people on the proceedure involved in the system, may feel being unneceessarily taxed.

“They should be enlightened and come to appreciate them, you will see them voluntarily complying. So, enlightenment and interaction are the magic words in taxation.”

Speaking on the cases
of multiple taxation in Nigeria, Ukpai noted that the tax law was sufficiently provided and followed by the body but on the cases of non-compliance, the law should be enforced accordingly to get compliance.

“The institute ensures in industry that there’s a meeting point between the tax payers and tax administrators. What we mostly see, is that there are cases of tax payers avoiding tax, and also sometimes, pay tax. Now, when they do that the tax collectors will certainly do something to ensure that the tax payers are in line with the law. In line with the law, it doesn’t support over taxation, but when such cases are established, the best thing to do is to raise an objection.

“Take for instance in Ebonyi State here, if a tax payer feels aggrieved, he should bring his case to the State Tax Commission, and that Commission is an independent body that will judiciously look into the matter. Anything above that, there is Tax Appeal Commission and in South East, it’s located in Enugu. So you can take your grievance to the commission,” he said.

Ukpai recalled that the Church Thanksgiving Service by the members of the institute would be subsequently followed with road walk, public lecture, visit to internally displaced people (IDP) and orphanage homes before their dinner on different dates as parts of commemorating the CITN 40th anniversary in Ebonyi State and the country at large.