Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami has said governments across Africa must begin to rethink governance, engender public confidence and trust in government by providing value for taxpayers’ money in line with their obligations under the social contract they have with citizens.
Mr Nami made the remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) 7th General Assembly, held in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, according to a statement issued by his media aid, Johannes Oluwatobi Wojuola.
The 7th General Assembly is tagged: “Rethinking Revenue Strategies: The Human Face of Taxation,” added that it was imperative for African Tax Administrators to mobilise and speak with one voice as a regional bloc on global tax issues for their collective interests.
“The fiscal social contract which hinges on the willingness of the citizens to pay tax in return for the provision of public service, is a clarion call on the government at all levels in Africa to rethink governance.
“In my view, if we must transform the tax system and enhance revenue collection in Africa, there is a need for the governance at all levels to engender public confidence and trust in government by providing value for taxpayers’ money,” Nami said.
Nami also stated that governments should reconsider how projects are reported in the public space, with such reports communicating to convey the idea that taxpayers’ money’s is used to fund infrastructural projects.
Also, Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu who was represented by chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) Mr. Hamzat Ayodele Subair, in the same vein said that there was the need to give taxation a human face, by implementing projects with taxpayers’ moneys that impact the lives of the citizens.
