Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has commenced the training of 200 personnel in the service to enhance productivity.
The acting executive chairman of FCT-IRS, Mr. Haruna Abdullahi while addressing the participants said that this is in line with the mandate of the service to constantly boost revenue generation in the FCT.
He explained that capacity building is one of the core objectives of FCT-IRS as it aligns staff with the projects and evolving challenges faced by the Service, especially those about non-compliance and enforcement.
Abdullahi further explained that tax officials need technical and verbal skills to effectively audit and interact with taxpayers especially the High Network Individuals and Politically Exposed Persons to ensure prompt compliance.
He added that the responsibility of the service is key to the success of the FCT administration hence, skillful taxmen are needed to rapidly grow the tax net, that the topics to be discussed during the training have been strategically selected to serve as key pointers to where the service is headed which revolve around audit, investigation, and enforcement.
The acting executive chairman said that the service has concluded a plan to commence the auditing of individuals especially High Network Individuals in the FCT to ensure they pay their taxes correctly and promptly.
He noted that this is one of the reasons the Service decided to embark on the training to prepare its employees for the task ahead.
Abdullahi while also recognising the global stance of the Institute, commended the efforts of the President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Mr. Adesina Adedayo towards ensuring that highly experienced and witty facilitators were provided.
The President of CITN, Mr. Adesina Adedayo who commended the foresight and commitment of the service towards capacity building and tax administration, said the FCT-IRS is a unique and organised agency with an effective means of ensuring service delivery.
He also disclosed that to grow the Service from where it is presently to where it needs to be, infrastructure, system, and capacity must be put in place.
Adedayo added that the role of enlightenment of taxpayers cannot be overemphasised as information dissemination and awareness drive compliance, thus, efforts must be made towards sensitisation to boost collection and eliminate ignorance as an excuse for non-compliance.
