CISLAC, Oxfam, FIRS Seek Improved Tax Audits For MSMEs

Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) in partnership with Oxfam and the Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) have emphasised the need for improved tax audits for small and medium enterprises.

The explanation is that such move would bolster the economic livelihoods of businesses with the obligation to file tax returns, block leakages of multiple taxation and keep proper documentation of accounting records of daily transactions. They made the call a two-day stakeholders sensitisation and capacity building workshop in Lagos.

This is even as the MSMEs stakeholders highlighted the challenges facing their operations which include, multiple taxes, regulatory challenges, informal structures, lack of coordination of federal & state agencies and the absence of a central technology platform for the ease of payment of taxes, amongst others.

Senior manager, Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS) Dr. Iheme Madukairo told the gathering that tax audits for MSMEs will provide leverage for businesses to give accountability for paid taxes while improving the landscape of MSMEs and private corporations to block income leakages, multiple taxation and track the computational level of growth on company income.

Iheme stated that NIN registration for instance, was made compulsory for SMEs business registration in the country to ensure a transparent system for tracking the significant number of legitimate business operating formally in the SMEs subsector.

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Speaking on CAMA Acts, he said, following the national tax policy, SMEs and small-scale companies whose turnovers are below N25 million and below are exempted from paying taxes for a period of time.

Executive director of CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Musa said despite efforts and interventions of CBN, NIRSAL, Nexim, BOI, AfDB, SMEDAN and other agencies who have set up offices across the 36 states to assist the SMEs, access to finance was a major obstacle for SMEs.

He said, less than 5 percent of Nigerian SMEs have been able to access adequate financing as working capital for funding business growth and expansion.

CISLAC boss stated that the N617.3 billion funding gap in the sector has prevented the country’s MSMEs from realising their full potentials.

Musa, who was represented by the programme manager, CISLAC, Chinedu Bassey cited a 2020 MSME survey by PwC which also highlighted multiple taxation and regulatory challenges.

He therefore urged for civic advocacy to improve access to finance for small business growth/expansion, and also help to build capacity of SMEs on relevant statutory requirements, legal and policy frameworks.

National deputy president, Southern Region, NASME, Mrs. Gbemi Oduntan, stated that, the programme will afford stakeholders proffer solution to some of the challenges bedevilling SMEs.

National secretary, Association of Nigeria Women Business Networks (ANWBA), Mrs. Olakitan Wellington, noted that, there is a lot of financial support provided by the government for MSMEs, but could not be accessed due to difficulties in proper documentation processes.

Olakitan asserted that the workshop will go a long way in exposing SMEs on the right ways to access SMEs support funds for both the government and international organizations.