The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit has called for an efficient tax system to ensure everyone pays their fair share of the tax burden.
The agency emphasised that there should be no tolerance for tax avoidance or evasion in the country.
Speaking at the Revenue Assurance Summit in Abuja on Tuesday, the Chief Executive Officer of NFIU, Hafsa Bakari, noted that the agency’s focus had shifted towards increasing internally generated revenue, as this would enable the government to secure and provide essential amenities for citizens.
Bakari said, “To build the schools we need, to educate our children, to provide effective healthcare, to build roads and bridges, to secure our communities, we recognise that our focus should shift towards internally generated revenue.
“Therefore, we need to have efficient and effective systems in place to ensure that everyone pays their fair share of the tax burden. There can be no room for tax avoidance and tax evasion,”
Bakari explained that although their mandate was to focus on money laundering and terrorist financing, they have identified tax crimes and revenue assurance as a critical strategic priority for the unit.
She said, “Historically, FIUs have focused on money laundering and terrorist financing. However, at the NFIU, we have identified tax crimes and revenue assurance as a critical strategic priority for the Unit. This led us to establish a dedicated Tax Crimes and Revenue Assurance Department, one of the first within any Financial Intelligence Unit globally.
“While our work on tax crimes initially focused on supporting the Federal Inland Revenue Service, we took a further step to explore partnerships with sub-national counterparts. This expansion was predicated on the recognition that the vast majority of tax evasion happens at the State level. Our analysis led us to the conclusion that the data on financial transactions held within the Unit would be of tremendous benefit to State Internal Revenue Services as well.
“However, at this point, I must sound a note of caution. While FIUs were created by international conventions to address criminal activity, the same international conventions and standards require that we put in place measures to protect the integrity of the information that we provide. To this end, our approach to working with States is built on the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding which sets out the principles, objectives and limitations of the intelligence provided.” (Punch)