By Melvin Onwubuke
The chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria has decried the volume of tax evasion in the country; particularly among the upper class.
This follows the statement by the President, Samuel Agbeluyi, in his interview with the media during the 2024 Council Retreat with the theme ‘Making CITN the Professional Institute of Choice: Strategies and Options’ held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom on Thursday.
The president expounded that, despite the fact that CITN was working with the government to formulate Policies and Strategies necessary for revenue generation, it was mindful of not increasing the rate, that would in turn become a burden to taxpayers in Nigeria.
He said “Nigeria is going through a difficult and turbulent experience and we must all come together. Taxation is within the fiscal policy realm and as an institute we keep advising the government as to the policies, and strategies required to generate more revenue.
“And, when we say we are generating more revenue, we are conscious of two variables: Don’t increase the rate and don’t bring in new taxes. So, if anything reduce, it should be the number of taxes that we have in the country.”
“In some states, there are as many as 60 different number of taxes. The federal government has said we can bring this to at least 10 or 9. When we reduce, we give space and comfort to the tax payer who have been harassed over the years with over 60 different types of taxes” he added.
Tax evasion is an intentional violation of tax laws, and is evident in instances where tax liability is fraudulently reduced.
