The Joint Tax Board (JTB) on Thursday urged members of staff to harness the opportunity locked in the tax technology advancement program for the comprehensive digitalization of the nation’s tax system.
The apex body for tax authorities in Nigeria, through its Secretary Mr. Olusegun Adesokan, emphasised the significance of equipping staff members for the current and evolving tax environment.
Speaking at a staff retreat in Abuja, Adesokan said, the organisation is set to submit some of its reports to the presidency soon and that one of its major advocacies is for a total digitalisation of tax administration for effectiveness.
He noted that the major goal of the retreat was for staff members to fully imbibe the culture of collaboration and innovation, to enable a full understanding of their role under the emerging dispensation.
He said: “One of the things we have realised is that we need to retrain and re-culture our staff to prepare for the new and emerging tax landscape. Because this committee and the Tax Presidential Committee will be submitting some of its reports very soon, this committee is advocating for a total digitalisation of tax administration in Nigeria.
“The Secretariat, which serves as a hub for major federal and sub-national revenue authorities, need to be prepared for the task ahead. One of the things the committee is also doing is to reposition and strengthen the trained tax board. We do not have to wait till the reforms have been implemented before we prepare ourselves for the emerging trends.
“So that is why we are here, to deliberate and see how we can further upskill ourselves and further prepare ourselves for what is to come. We have been engaging the sub-nationals and their response has been very good”.
Revealing reasons behind the tax technology adaptation and training, Adesokan said the development will bolster revenue generation among sectors and organisations and, in turn, cushion borrowing while boosting the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
He said, “Why do you want to digitalize? Number one, it is to help optimize your revenue generation ability. There is no sub-national revenue authority that does not want to generate more. Bear in mind the fact that the focus of the national and sub-national governments now is to look inward for more revenue and reduce dependence on borrowing”.
The apex tax body added that it had begun stringent engagement and collaboration among sub-national authorities to provide support in actualizing its tax technology revenue generation vision.
“So how do you generate more revenue internally or look inwards for more revenue? Optimizing your ability to generate revenue within your own space. So, at the joint task force, we have been engaging the different state revenue authorities on how we can support them to automate their processes so they can deliver more to the citizenry of the rest of the states. Because when the state government has more revenue, it can do more.
“It can fund education more, provide better health care, better routes, and security for the people, so we have been engaging them in organizing training. We have also been looking at how we can support them in bespoke areas because we find that the sub-national authorities have different needs in terms of technology”, he said.
The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, had earlier called for increased capacity building to enhance tax administration processes among members of the global body.
Adedeji also urged stakeholders to ignore risks in tax technology and embrace Its opportunities.