The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) is set to set revenue agenda for the incoming government and looking at ways to help reduce the country’s debt burden.
This, it said, would be discussed at its 25th annual taxation conference holding between Monday, May 8 to Friday May 12 2023 in Abuja.
Speaking at a pre-conference briefing, the president of CITN, Adeshina Adedayo stressed the need for the incoming government to seek out ways to reduce the debt burden of the country, noting that, taxation is a critical tool that would help generate revenue for the country.
He noted that the 2023 Tax Conference is themed “Nigeria of the Future: Achieving Sustainable Development Through Taxation” is apt as taxation is the hope of the nation which is currently over N46.25 trillion deep in debt.
“We are not just talking of Nigeria of today but Nigeria of tomorrow and the sustainable growth we want to achieve using taxation as a tool to get that achievement. The theme is unique because we just had an election and we are going to be talking about the direction of the government in the next four years.
“We need to really understand where we are, where we are coming from and where we are heading to. We should understand the debt burden of the country.”
should understand the impact tax play in that particular scenario. And that is why we came up with this theme, which is meant to appeal to what we are irrespective of whether we are in the private or public sector. We want a situation where we understand the role of taxation when it comes to sustainable development.”
Noting that the economic plan of the incoming government emphasizes the critical role that taxation needs to play in the growth and development of the country, he added that “I have gone through the issue of sustainable development goals and we are talking about sustainable development using taxation.
“This is an opportunity for us to see how well even as a country, we align effectively with sustainability. We are not just to be reading about sustainable development. We are meant to feel it, to experience it and to know what can happen if taxation is used as the backbone of this country.
“That is why talking about taxation is not just an abstract thing, you see the impact of taxation in so many ways than one, so it is very important.”
Adedayo, who noted that there are other sub-themes at the conference with world recognised tax professional speaking at the conference, stressed that the conference, asides proffering solutions for the government, would also serve as knowledge gathering event for tax professionals in the country.
To him, “You cannot operate in this economy if you are ignorance, and that is why as professionals, we need to also be careful and be mindful and deliberate about our knowledge base because without that we only be talking and we do not want to be that type of professional.”
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