Revenue Leakages: Bill to Establish National Inspector-General for Tax Crime Passes Second Reading

Udora Orizu in Abuja 

The House of Representatives has passed through second reading a Bill which seeks to address leakages emanating from non-payment and under-payment of taxes; irregularities in the assessment, reporting and remittances of taxes; to prevent and combat tax-related crimes. 

The proposed legislation, tilted, “A Bill for an Act to Establish National Inspector-General for Tax Crime Commission and for related matters,” was sponsored by House Spokesman, Hon. Benjamin Kalu.

Leading the debate on its general principles, Kalu said leakages occur where unscrupulous staff and agents of tax authorities collude with citizens to under assess the tax-payer thereby resulting in under payment. 

He explained that small business owners bear the twin burden of either over assessment or multiple taxation, and it stifles the business environment as it does not allow small businesses that are ordinarily the engine of growth to survive.

He said when the proposed legislation becomes law it will plug all leakages in the tax administration system to ensure the protection of tax payers’ rights.

He assured that the Tax Crimes Commission will not function as a law court, and will not duplicate the functions of the Tax Appeal Tribunals established in accordance with section 59(1) of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2007.

Kalu said, “While it is one thing to fix the amount of taxes to be paid, it is another for tax collection authorities and assessors to determine the right amount of taxes to be paid in accordance with the provisions of extant tax laws. Leakages also occur in the form of tax evasion, especially such that is encouraged and condoned by the tax collector and more especially among multinational companies operating within the country. Leakages also occur where there are non-remittances of collected taxes, that is to say where government does not have access to the total amount of taxes collected because of revenue diversion by fraudulent staff of tax authorities.”