The chairman of the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has reiterated that all taxpayers in Nigeria are required to submit their annual tax returns by March 31 each year, irrespective of their earnings or whether their taxes have already been deducted under the PAYE scheme.

PAYE, which stands for Pay As You Earn, is a system where employers deduct income tax from employees’ salaries and remit it to the government.

Oyedele made the clarification during a recent webinar organised in partnership with the Joint Revenue Board.

The session, which brought together human resource managers, payroll officers, chief financial officers and tax managers, was shared on his YouTube channel on Friday.

Speaking at the virtual event, Oyedele noted that employers are legally obligated to file annual tax returns for their employees, including estimates of workers’ remuneration for the year.

“In terms of filing returns, you need to file annual returns as employers for your employees. Many of you must have done that already.

“If you haven’t, you have just a couple of days left to file those returns, including projections of how much you will pay your staff.

“This is one area where we have been non-compliant in Nigeria. In many states, more than 90 percent, even the most sophisticated states, cannot boast of 5 percent filing returns,”
Oyedele said.

He also debunked the notion that employees whose PAYE taxes have already been deducted are exempt from submitting personal income tax returns.

The fiscal policy expert emphasised that the requirement covers all taxpayers, including low-income earners, adding that tax authorities are taking steps to make the filing process easier.

“Many people assume that if they are an employee and the employer has deducted PAYE, they don’t have to do anything. That is wrong. Both under the old and new tax laws, you must still file your returns.

“I’m sure the tax authorities, joint revenue boards, and various state internal revenue services are working on how to make this process simpler and easier.

“All of us must file our returns, including those earning low income. You must file returns by 31st March of the year in respect of the previous fiscal year,” he said.

Oyedele added that companies enjoying tax incentives are now mandated to declare those benefits when submitting their tax returns or within a short period afterward.