Some stakeholders in manufacturing and financial sectors have called for intensified enlightenment on the new national tax law and a human face in its implementation, following a one-day conference hosted by the African Heritage Institution in collaboration with the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service. The conference, themed “Stakeholders Sensitisation on the New Tax Law in Nigeria,” brought together experts and concerned stakeholders to discuss the implications of the legislation.
Mrs Ifeoma Ezeasor, representing the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria for Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu, said awareness of the new law had been relatively low within the zone. She noted that only in Enugu State had the government and its revenue service created regular fora to enlighten residents about the new tax law. She said further enlightenment had become necessary as the new law widened the tax net and tax return filing to include all Nigerians having a business, regardless of how small.
An entrepreneur, Chief Ignatius Udeh, said many traders were not aware of the requirement to file annual tax returns. He called for awareness campaigns to be delivered in indigenous languages, urging institutions and the ESIRS to take enlightenment to markets, market association meetings, and other traders’ gatherings. A financial expert, Chief Chidi Ezema, called for the implementation of the new tax law in phases, with serious consideration of other socioeconomic factors.
Another tax expert, Dr Mark Abani, said the new tax law had taken consideration of the poor and those in the informal sectors with annual profits of less than N800,000. He noted that the law had made it easy for each person’s earnings and profits to be monitored. He attributed misinformation about the tax law to the fact that some wealthy individuals do not want to pay their appropriate taxes and do not want government agencies to examine their earnings.
Executive Chairman of the ESIRS, Mr Emmanuel Nnamani, said the new tax law had helped Enugu State abolish multiple taxation and harmonise payments electronically for the ease and benefit of all. He said that with the harmonisation of taxes and the blocking of financial tax leakages, the state’s internally generated revenue had grown geometrically. Director of Afri-Heritage, Prof. Osita Ogbu, represented by Mr Chukwuma Okolo, said the institution had brought experts together to discuss the new tax law as part of its contributions toward awareness creation.
