News Bulletin Staff

(A Publication of Communications & Liaison Department)August Vol 2, 2012

The belief that honour is due to those w h o d e s e r ve i t wa s a ga i n exemplified when the Federal

Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and corporate institutions received awards for diligence and compliance with tax obligations in the area of education.The award which was organized by the Territorial Education Trust Fund (TETfund) was staged to honour taxpayers and FIRS who have contributed to the development of education through the education tax fund.FIRS which has a statutory responsibility to asses, collect and account for revenue, had remitted ₦591 billion since 1994, when the TETfund was established.Speaking at the ceremony, the Ag. ECFIRS, Alhaji Kabir Mashi, gave the assurance that the Service would ensure improved collection of education tax in the years ahead. The Ag. ECFIRS put the collection and remittance to the education fund the years of 1995, 2005 and 2011 at ₦1.96 billion, ₦21.8 billion and ₦ 128 billion respectively. He also stressed that there are expectat ions that the 2012 contribution will be better than the

actualized in 1992 by the federal government”, she explained.No fewer than 55 corporate bodies were honoured by TETfund for compliance with tax obligations. These organizations are categorized into Large, Medium, and Small taxpayers.Organizations in the Large Taxpayers categories were SNEPC Ltd, Total Ltd, ESSO Ltd, Cheveron Ltd, BOBIL Ltd, ADDAX Ltd, AGIP Ltd, BRASS LTD, SAIPEM Ltd, NLNG, Folawiyo Ltd, Zenith Bank, First Bank, Access Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Diamond bank, Unity Bank, MTN Ltd and Dangote Sugar, amongst others.Recipients of awards in the Medium Tax p aye rs cate go r i e s i n c l u d e d , Contraction Products Ltd, Nempark Properties Ltd, MBH Power Ltd, Integrated Services Ltd, Stanbic IBTC Stock Ltd, Standard Foot Wear Ltd, Gas Link Ltd, Ports and Terminal Ltd.Micro and Small taxpayer awardees were; Conservative properties Ltd, Chemster Paints Ltd, Survicom Services Ltd, Foresight Agro Ltd, Regular Merchandise Ltd, Sanbukr Ltd, Santana Services, Prime Publicity and Godab Ltd.The minister noted that all companies doing business in Nigeria are required to pay two percent of their profit as education tax, in accordance with TETfund Act 2001. The EDT money is expected to be expended on general improvement of education in federal and state tertiary institutions for the prov is ion of essent ia l phys ica l infrastructure.

present records.According to him, “ The Management of FIRS feels very proud to be associated with this laudable initiative that showcases the usage of taxpayers money”.The minister of Education, Prof Ruqayyatu Rufa'i also stressed the need for effective utilization of corporate taxes as a supplementary source of funding for the educational sector. “As government grapples with the pressure from other sectors, the responsibility of funding education naturally goes beyond annual budgetary provisions. It is on this premise that the idea of using corporate tax as a source of funding was mooted and

FIRS Receives Education Trust Fund AwardBy Mike Ikosin

AG.ECFIRS Alh. Kabir Mashi receiving the award plaque on behalf of FIRS

Ag. ECFIRS, Alhaji Kabir Mashi shares thoughts with Dr Musa Babayo at the event.

A section of the hightable during the tetFund award

FIRS News BulletinAugust, 2012 Vol 2.

Standard &Compliance Group Brainstorms on Taxes

n another effort to engender optimum revenue collection from non-oil taxes, the Standards and Compliance Group (SCG) organized a workshop on Ithe administration of Capital Gains Tax, Stamp Duties and Personal Income

Tax as a strategy for optimum revenue yield.The workshop which was handled by the Registration, Returns, Filing, Processes

thand Programmes Department (RRFPPD) was held in Port Harcourt on the 16 of August, 2012.The workshop was predicated on the need to improve the revenue accruable to government especially from the non-oil taxes. It is believed that the session would produce the various methods for exploring the great potentials that abound in the non-oil taxes.The Ag. ECFIRS represented by Mr. Andy Ejemeyovwi, Ag. CD/SCG, in his keynote address stated that the workshop was timely given the challenge of revenue shortfall being experienced at all levels of government and the need for FIRS to attain, surpass and sustain its performance on a continuous basis.In his words, “I commend the SCG for organizing this workshop that is particularly focused on Capital Gains Tax, Stamp Duties and Personal Income Tax fwhich are areas that have traditionally contributed the least to our total tax collection figures. This position must however, be reversed if we are to meet our targets and ensure that these taxes begin to make substantial contributions to the overall revenue collection”.He also noted that despite the preponderance of huge Capital Asset in Nigeria, particularly Port Harcourt, CGT has continued to make contribution to the overall tax yield. He urged tax officials to continue to play their role in sensitizing the public and creating awareness of correct practices that will positively drive

the collection of all taxes.Papers were presented by seasoned tax administrators and professionals on interesting topics like; Applicable Strategies to Realizing Optimum Revenue Collection on CGT, Overcoming Tax Evasion and Avoidance in CGT Administration, Administration of Stamp Duties Act for optimum revenue yield and Key Issues in Enterprise Partnersh ip and Personal Income Tax Administration as well as recent amendments to PITA. Questions and Answers were fielded after each paper presentation.

imeline was 7:17 pm, yet the Modernization Programme Management Office (Non-Tax), had its official ambience as staff of the department dutifully buried their Theads in files and computers to iron out remnants of the day`s activities. Being an

officer from another department, my purpose of visit was to seek aid for the use of an office appliance in PMO-NT, as such I did not expect to receive a warm reception at that time.In my quest for a quick resolve to my challenge, I approached a few friendly faces that could help and to my relief an officer offered help, but the office appliance conspired against my haste and refused to work, and I was left standing for about 30 minutes. In my jaded thought for a solution, a fair complexioned, nice looking lady pulled a chair from another office, placed it beside me with the nicest courtesy, and said “please sit and relax while you wait”. I was astounded, not only by the act but also the choice of words. With curiosity I inquired about her, the report I received gladdened my heart beyond measure as my informant said “ah! That is Farida Labaran, ever nice and always ready to offer help even when you don't request for it”.Fast track two months later, I received the most shocking news since I joined the service; Farida Labaran passed on weeks after her marriage. I could not comprehend it, how can dear Farida die like that? Why would death choose the nicest person and a blessing to this generation? Puzzling questions in my mind as such I decided to interview her colleagues and below are excerpts of their responses.

Light Out On Farida Labaran

By Ann Embuka

By Ola Babarinde

“Farida was usually shy because I remember the first time she was to face an audience she was not comfortable with the idea, but I encouraged her and she pulled through excellently. She was resourceful, ever ready to help, always researching and that was why she was a consistent contributor to Gauge Magazine. That I will miss her will be an

understatement. “ - Chiaka Okoye D/PMO (Non -Oil)

“It is a sad one really, it is extremely painful to talk about her in death. It is hard to reconcile it, that lively Farida with no issues will just pass on like that. She was a competent colleague, hardworking, friend to everyone. I will miss the way she lights up the

environment, I have never seen her quarrel with anyone here”. -Festus Ojeikpen

“Hmmm, am not sure I can find the words to describe it. She was just an exceptionally nice person. We sat next to each other in the office for about two years so we had strong bond. They say when two women grow so close there would always be a fighting point, not so with her, cause with her you cannot find anything to fight about. She was so simple, amiable, always wanted to take a peaceful part in everything. Oh! I don't think I will ever get over it, I have tried, but I just

cannot get over it.” - Joan Owoburede

Late Farida Labaran

Members of the high table analyzing the trend

ervices are there for you!

Stand up for your right Challenge Service Failure

Anywhere! Anytime! Today! Today !

SERVICOM HELPLINES081594900000815949000108159490002

YOU WILL BE HEARD!!!

Aligning Our Mission Statement With Our Infrastructure

The Service will never relent on its collection feats; as such one of the focal points of Management is the deploring of new ideas to increase collection. However one constant puzzling question is how can there be consistent significant increase in revenue collection with all the earlier raised challenges? In advanced countries such as United Kingdom and USA, reports have shown that there is a high compliance level in tax payment. Reasons for this are not far fetched, because amongst other things, these countries have created a suitable working environment that supports the working mechanism of tax collection.As a revenue generating agency, there is always the need to leave the taxpayer with a positive image of the tax agency which cannot be relegated to the background. It is difficult to erase the visual impression created in the mind of an individual. In the

n line with Federal Inland Revenue Servic mission statement which says; Ito o p e r a t e a n e f f i c i e n t a n d

transparent tax system that optimizes tax revenue collection and voluntary compliance, the need for a suitable environment to support this statement cannot be over-emphasized.Reports reaching the SERVICOM complaints desk from taxpayers are on dilapidated buildings and lack of working tools which negatively impacts on the quality of service delivery. The recent monitoring exercise of SERVICOM across the country only underscores this fact. As SERVICOM officers sent in reports from different regions, there were concurrence of reports such as poor office structure, obsolete file storage equipments, and most surprisingly, heaps of junk in different office environments. When all the aforementioned situations are added to poor attitudinal culture from some staff, one needs not search further for the reasons of late issuance of Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC).

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Nigerian context, the respect accorded a tax officer can only be enhanced if there is a suitable working environment. In the event that this is lacking, the taxpayer would not only disrespect the tax officer but would have to contend with crises of confidence in the organization.A lot of the offices visited during the SERVICOM monitoring exercise leaves much to be desired. Some of the offices have infrastructural challenges while some others are not properly managed. Some offices are awaiting delivery of requested cabinets while others obviously have inadequate space to manage files, as such they resort to the crude method of arranging files on the floor. If we really want to enhance voluntary compliance, as promised in our mission statement, we obviously need to improve in this aspect to support our collection process.

Dilapidated part of Kaduna MSTO Tax Controller`s office.

Kaduna North Registry that requires a facelift