THE Presidency has directed personal data collecting agencies to release all relevant individual records to the Joint Tax Board (JTB).
Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo gave the order on Monday in Abuja at The Go-Live ceremony for the new National TIN Registration System. He ordered that “all agencies critical to the optimal success of this initiative, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria InterBank Settlement System (NIBBS), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), are hereby directed to provide the fullest co-operation to the JTB especially in the release of the relevant individual records.
The vice president gave the order after the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Mr. Tunde Fowler, said the service was yet to take delivery of taxpayer data from organisations such as the CBN via the NIBBS, and NIMC, adding that the ceremony will reinforce the need to work together as one to promote the Economic and Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) of Mr. President.
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He said:“ So we will like to thank them in anticipation of their commitment to release the required data to JTB. For the first time in the history of Nigeria, the Federal Government paid all outstanding PAYE tax liabilities owed by Federal MDAs (ministries, departments and agencies) from 2002 to 2016, totaling N135.8 billion to the various state governments in May 2019.”
He said the Federal Government gesture will encourage state governments to also promptly remit all Withholding Taxes and VAT due to the Federation Account.
Speaking on The Go-Live project, Fowler said: “Tax authorities are poised to change the financial profile of Nigeria and particularly, lay a strong financial foundation to fund government at all tiers beyond aid, grants and borrowing.”
He added that new realities are driving the desire of the JTB to ensure that the identification of individuals and corporate bodies in the country is achievable.
“It is not only important that these records are available, it is equally important that the records are credible and reliable and that they are accessible under a secure environment, online real-time,” he said. [THE NATION]
