Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), yesterday, identified weak environment and low technological integration in tax administration as factors militating against efforts to mobilise domestic revenue in the country.
NGF’s Director-General, Asishana Okauru, who made the revelation in Abuja during the forum’s “technology tax” event, said the two factors had undermined the capacity of tax authorities to collect taxes efficiently and the ability of taxpayers to meet their tax responsibilities conveniently.
Okauru said the forum had been alerted to the fact that most contact-intensive taxes are at risk, given the lessons learnt during the period of the lockdown when the revenue made from contact-intensive taxes fell by an average of 40 percent across all states in Nigeria.
According to him, the experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed that all revenue administrations need to move to a digital future.
Okauru noted that digitisation does not only bring about efficiency, it also provides opportunities for more people to be involved.
“Specifically for tax authorities, one big lesson that we have learnt is the criticality of Internet-based business support systems and payment platforms for the automation of all back-end operational processes and payments across all revenue streams.”
According to him, the NGF has taken steps to bring together technology providers, service providers and researchers in the tax space into one network to take advantage of the innovation that is taking place.
The director general said that the NGF would continue to do its best to bring such collaborators together to provide opportunities for states to benefit from a global perspective and to ensure no state is left behind.
By Matthew Ogune,
The Guardian