Samuel Agbeluyi
The President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Samuel Agbeluyi, has expressed confidence in the country’s ability to produce tax professionals in future.
Agbeluyi who stated this at the All Secondary Schools Tax, in Benin, Edo State on Saturday, said that given the critical nature of taxation, opportunities abound for students to become tax professionals, which would qualify them to either practice taxation, work with tax authorities or related departments in both formal and informal sectors or even become an authority in the field of taxation and related studies.
PUNCH Online recently reported that the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria said that there was a need for a good tax system to enable the country to attract foreign direct investment.
The Chairman of Ikeja District Society of CITN, Mr Abiodun Oke, disclosed this during his investiture in Lagos, recently.
“We desire to have an environment where they would be able to work and bring funds to the country. Recently, we have been talking about the foreign direct investment; it won’t come if we don’t have a standard tax system,” Oke said.
At the competition, Izoduwa Richking emerged winner, Igbinomwanhia Bridget finished second and Uwoghiren Blessed finished third. They got N200,000, N150,000 and N100, 000 respectively. Also, fourth to 10th place finishers got N20,000 each as consolation.
The CITN president said the tax quiz event is a great medium for grooming the brightest minds who would revolutionise the future of taxation in Nigeria.
“Today, we enjoyed the intellectually stimulating display of knowledge in taxation by these students. The process was fair, transparent and it produced the best as the winners
“Turning to the future, I am excited by the potential of the next generation of tax professionals. The level of knowledge being displayed by the younger generation on taxation speaks profoundly of the calibre of tax professionals that will emerge in the near future.
“As you know, taxation is arguably the life wire of any nation. In fact, no clime can experience any meaningful development without an effective, efficient and consistent inflow of tax revenue,” Agbeluyi added.
In her welcome address, Chairman, Students Affairs and Tertiary Institution Relations Committee, Dr. Abiola Adimula stressed the need to enlighten students’ understanding of the role of tax in the development of an economy.
Adimula, who was represented by her vice, Imagbe Victor, noted that the Institute is playing a key role, towards improving tax policies and guidelines that would be mutually beneficial to both the government and taxpayers in the country.
Adimula said the Initiative is to create an interactive atmosphere for students to share ideas and contribute positively to the economic development of the country.
“This is an event organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria. Previous similar events have been held in Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Lagos. This event has enjoyed the sponsorship of the Institute in partnership with CITN Benin and District Society.”