The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria has emphasized the importance of establishing a robust tax system to enhance Nigeria’s ability to attract foreign direct investment.

Chairman of Ikeja District Society of CITN, Mr. Abiodun Oke, highlighted this imperative during his investiture ceremony in Lagos, stressing the crucial role of a standardized tax framework in fostering an environment conducive to investment.

“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 foreign direct investment; it won’t come if we don’t have a standard tax system,” Oke remarked.

He underscored the necessity of updating Nigeria’s tax laws to align with current realities, emphasizing the need to address outdated regulations hindering investment.

“Look at laws because they would always tell you what is in the law. And so if the law is archaic, it is no longer up-to-date. We need to find a way to bring them on board,” Oke emphasized.

Regarding the challenge of multiple taxation, Oke expressed optimism that the involvement of tax professionals in key decision-making positions would lead to solutions.

“So, multiple taxation has always been there but now our professionals in the tax space have been called upon to sanitize it, and I am sure something good would come out in the near future,” he added.

Oke highlighted the importance of digitizing tax processes to improve compliance, noting that many businesses evade taxes due to the lack of digital monitoring systems.

“People don’t pay tax here in Nigeria. There are small businesses that do not pay taxes. But when such personal transactions are captured digitally, the person can be monitored. So the era of digital technology is what we want to leverage,” Oke affirmed.

Additionally, he outlined plans to prioritize the welfare of CITN members and enhance communication channels through the implementation of an e-platform.

“To be able to do that, the administration needs to have an e-platform where it can reach its members. Digitizing a lot of processes would enable his administration to keep tabs on members,” Oke stated.

Meanwhile, Mr. Samuel Agbeluyi, President of CITN and member of the Tax Reforms Committee, revealed plans to streamline Nigeria’s tax system, aiming to reduce the current plethora of taxes to a maximum of 10.

“With what we are seeing, away from 62 different taxes we pay in Nigeria, we are looking at reducing it to a maximum of 10,” Agbeluyi declared.