LAGOS – The President-elect, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has been urged to review the current revenue allocation formula for effective and sustainable national development.
President of Society of Women in Taxation (SWIT), Mrs Justina Okoror, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
He said at the sidelines of ongoing Annual Tax Conference, that the review became imperative following the “dismal” impact of the nation’s huge revenue on Nigerians and the country since amalgamation in 1914.
NAN reports that the conference, organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation in Nigeria (CITN) has “Inclusive Economic Growth and Sustainable Developments: Fiscal Imperatives, Prospects and Challenges” as its theme.
Okoror said that CITN, through partnerships with Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), had always advocated the elevation of the nation’s tax system to international standard.
“I pray that all the efforts of the institute would come to light soon” she said.
She said that while the tax revenue is growing at the federal level it was not the same at state level
“Nigerians are asking what happened to the tax revenues collected since 1914 amalgamation.
“I mean, what went wrong? Where are the roads, electricity, hospitals, among others?” she asked.
She stated that FIRS had done well by increasing its tax collections from N8 billion to more than N4.3 trillion over the years.
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“How has this increment impacted on Nigeria and the citizenry?” she further asked.
Okoror said that while parts of the fund must have been invested, the lopsidedness of the investments had led to marginalisation cries by some sections of the country.
“So we are pleading with the incoming administration under the leadership of Gen. Buhari to overhaul revenue allocations,” she said.
At the conference, tax professionals would brainstorm on national and international collaboration on how to tackle tax evasion and illicit financial flows. (NAN)
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