Business
Experts Hail New Tax Act
Tax experts have lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for signing into law the new Personal Income Tax Act (PITA). The experts, who spoke with newsmen in Lagos on Monday, said the law would widen the tax net by bringing in the informal sector.
They noted that the new law focused attention more on indirect taxes than on direct taxes by bringing in the informal sector which hitherto had been difficult to tax.
They, however, urged tax administrators, experts, lawmakers and the three tiers of government to simplify tax terms to ensure a high level of compliance by tax payers.
The Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Ifoeke Omoigu-Okauru, said “Because it is very cash-driven, because there are records, it doesn’t have to do with whether you are earning N300,000 or whether you are earning a billion, the truth of the matter is that the informal sector is a difficult to tax sector”.
Also commenting on the new Act, the President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Sunday Jegede, described the law as a new lease of life for Nigeria’s tax system.
“Tax policies would be meaningless unless the people understood the need and objectives. After paying taxes they must in turn demand their rights.It is one thing to have a well thought out tax system, but it is another to have people willing to see the need for intensive tax awareness.”
He said. On his part, the President of West African Union of Tax Institutes (WAUTI), Kunle Quardri, described the law as a welcome development.