Adedeji Assures FIRS Will Not Add, Increase Taxes as Guinness Resolves to Stay Put in Nigeria
Chigozie Amadi
Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji, yesterday said it will neither increase nor introduce new taxes under the current regime.
Speaking when he received the management team of Guinness Nigeria, led by its Chief Executive, Mr. Adebayo Alli, in Abuja, he said President Bola Tinubu had directed that a single digit tax regime be implemented in the country.
By implication, Adedeji said only nine forms of taxes would be operational when the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms completes its assignment.
This comes as Guinness Nigeria vowed to remain in the country, notwithstanding the current macro-economic challenges.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Dare Adekanmbi, Adedeji said, “For us at FIRS, we have responded to that directive. We want to grow the pie such that even if we are taking the same percentage of the bigger pie, the result will be huge.
“By God’s grace, we will not introduce additional taxes nor increase any form of taxes. We are only determined to increase the pie.
“We have restructured our operations at FIRS in such a way that we are now effectively carrying out our duty of assessing, collecting and accounting for taxes.”
He said, “We used to have functional types of taxes, but we have identified that the only customers we have are the taxpayers. We have improved the way we relate with our customers by rearranging our operations based on our customers, using their turnover as the basis to categorise them into large, medium and small.
“We did this to actually develop expertise in what we do. Secondly, to provide you with a one-stop shop for your activities. If you are in a large tax group, you only need to go to one office to pay all forms of taxes, including audit and other activities. You don’t need to move from one office to another again.
“We are here to serve you. You taxpayers are not armed robbers or criminals that we will be chasing about. FIRS is also not a law enforcement organisation. We are partners in progress.
“You are one of the trees in our vineyard. The only thing we can do is to ensure you are well watered and pruned so you can bear good fruits for us to have plenty of harvest.”
Alli, however, pledged that the company would continue to do business in the country, notwithstanding macro-economic challenges being faced.
He said, “We have come to know FIRS more and also tell you a little bit about who we are as a large taxpayer so you can understand our world, the value we add to Nigeria, despite the macroeconomic situation facing us.”
He assured the FIRS chairman that Guinness would continue to invest in the country, just as he sought assurances from the tax authority in terms of the role it would play “in getting the economy back on the right path from the recovery point of view.”
