CITN moves to address digitalisation, data challenge of taxation system

The President, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Mr Adesina Adedayo, has said that Nigeria needs proper data, information and accountability to achieve competitive tax system.

Adedayo made the observation at a press conference heralding the 24th Annual Tax Conference (ATC) of the Institute recently in Lagos.

The conference, slated to hold in Abuja for May 17 to 20, has the theme:  “Global Disruption, Taxation and Digitalisation: Implications for Socio-economics Development”.

The CITN president decried the lack of data, information and accountability in the nation’s taxation system, describing them as setbacks to the development of taxation operations.

According to him, for Nigeria to achieve a competitive tax system, there is urgent need to address issues on data, information and accountability.

Adedayo identified ‘digitalisation’ as the way to go with the taxation operations in Nigeria in order to compete with other country’s tax system.

According to him, Nigeria must not be left behind in the global digitalisation of the tax practice.

“What Nigeria need now is adequate information, data and accountability in the taxation system, which the institute is working to come up with position papers to address the menace.

“People are relocating their businesses abroad. Nigeria needs to wake up. We need to change our process, stability model and governance style.

“Our taxation system need to be digitalised and transformed to conform with what is obtainable in the global market,” he said.

Speaking on the impact and benefit of the conference, Adedayo said the conference would serve as a platform to educate the populace on need to change the mode of taxation practice.

He noted that all taxation operations and practices were now totally virtual, saying that an individual or organisation must not be physically seen/present in order to be taxed.

“The benefit of the conference is to let Nigerians know that with the way economic and business models have changed, tax administration and practice must also change. Unlike before when we wait for people to have a physical office before we tax them, virtual offices are now getting more economically viable than people think.

“With the global disruption, it is clear that we do not need physical interaction anymore to make money, which has caused us to have a discussion about it and how we do business around it. On how tax comes into all these, it comes from administration to practice. These will form our fulcrum for this year’s conference,” Adedayo said.