Executive Chairman of
the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, has
said that Nigerians might begin to show evidence of tax payment before
they can obtain their international passports.
He was speaking on
Monday, at the 136th meeting of the Joint Tax Board, which had the
theme: “Increased Inter-Agency Co-operation to Enhance Tax Compliance
and Optimise Revenue Collection”, in Abuja.
“We did take a
position and I believe it would be implemented in the very near future
that before you get any services from the immigration department:
renewal of passports etc, you’d have to show that you are a tax payer.
“These things are normal all over the world, In an effort to serve Nigerians and Nigeria better.
“People believe that payment of tax is a burden and I’ll repeat that you only pay tax on income and profits.
“So if you reside in
Nigeria and you are benefiting from being a Nigerian resident, it is
only fair that you contribute to the system that makes you enjoy that
standard of living”, he said.
Fowler also revealed
that the FIRS had set a target to increase the individual taxpayer
database by 10 million by December 31, 2016.
“I’m glad with our
co-operation; we’ve been able to attain 30 per cent of that. We’ve been
able to get three million individual taxpayers across the nation.
“I’d
like to congratulate Kano State for leading the pack by increasing the
database by 944,000 followed by Lagos with 306,000 then Kaduna and
Plateau”, he added.
from Daily post