Nume Ekeghe
Tax experts at PwC Nigeria have said digitising the processes of tax payment in the country will increase compliance level, among other benefits.
The Head of Tax, PwC Nigeria, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, said this on the sidelines at the PWC Tax academy held in Lagos recently.
He lamented the stress and some of the issues associated with the paper tax filing and its proneness to several losses of documents or mix-ups, adding that the earlier “we sort full digital alternatives in tax filing processes, the better.”
Oyedele said: “I think it is no longer a question of tax; everything we do today is impacted by technology and technology is making things better and faster and more cost-efficient and cost-effective.
“So, it is no longer acceptable for authorities to live in the past. Even though Nigeria is starting late, they say better late than never.
“So the idea now is to make technology the platform, not an option, for tax compliance in terms of calculating your taxes, making your payments, and filing your returns, such that even when you need, say for example, your tax clearance certificate, in the past, this used to be like rocket science.
“With technology now, one should be able to get that immediately. We know that these platforms are not perfect yet, so our role as PwC, helping so many people to pay their taxes and also paying taxes ourselves, it is to say once we identify what the problems are, we get the stakeholders to come together to see how we can fix it. It is not enough to criticise, we must find the solution together.”
He further added: “With our experience dealing with other countries, we know things that work in other places. So, it is very good that we have the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service and PEBEC. It is the beginning of the process, and we hope that by this time next year, all these processes will be much better such that the experience of the taxpayer will be a lot better.”
He further pointed out that technology would increase tax compliance and in turn increase contribution to the Gross Domestic Product.
He added: “Nigeria doesn’t rank very well on the ease of paying taxes. So, Nigeria’s tax revenue to GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the world, yet it is one of the most difficult places to pay tax.
“So, it is a contradiction: you need tax money but you make the process very difficult. So, if you simplify it by using technology, what that does is you encourage more people to pay. There is something about compliance cost; it is something that does not benefit government and the taxpayer.
“It is actually the money the taxpayer pay that doesn’t get to the government. So, both the taxpayer and the government have an objective to reduce that cost. That is something that technology does for you. It reduces your cost of compliance, and therefore you can get more people into the tax net.”
