The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to curb tax evasion in the country.
Its President, Mr Ikemefuna Ede, made the disclosure on Thursday, saying that the objective was to enhance capacity development of officers of the commission.
Ede said that continuous training and capacity building were important elements in building strong institutions and should be encouraged by all organisations.
“The objective is aimed at equipping the ICPC officers with the required knowledge needed to fight corruption and tax evasion in the tax sector,” he said.
Ede reiterated the commitment of CITN toward ensuring the immediate implementation of the terms of the MoU.
He, however, noted that tax evasion was a form of corruption which if allowed to thrive unabated, would spell doom for the continuous existence of Nigeria.
Ede blamed the rampant tax evasion in the country to weak taxation system, which he said was fixable by the government.
He noted that the dynamics of government revenue generation showed that taxation remained a major stabilising factor of the global polity.
Ede called for more stringent application of the nation’s tax statute by tax authorities against tax defaulters and also against entities that have statutory duties to remit taxes.
“Taxation is a tool for economic management and development and should support sustainable growth and infrastructure development at all times.
“Payment of taxes is a civic responsibility of all legible tax payers and evasion of taxes is tantamount to depriving the economy of its sustainable means of economic development.
“Tax evasion is a major bane in the tax system; it is also a criminal offence and should be strongly decried.
“Of course, it will lead to tangible economic loss more so as revenue from oil is no longer stable.
“It behooves on the government to restructure the tax system such that every legible tax payer will be compelled to pay tax as and when due,” Ede said.
Commenting, , the Acting Chairman of the ICPC, Dr Musa Abubakar expressed his delight on the signing of the MoU.
Abubakar said that the CITN was a reliable institution which was uniquely positioned to offer training to ICPC officers in the area of investigating and prosecuting tax evaders.
He also expressed optimism that a well packaged training programme would go a long way in enhancing the performance of its officers thereby enhancing the activities of the commission.