- Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedle, has urged Nigerians to submit their annual tax returns, warning that compliance remains low.
- Speaking at the webinar, he stressed that both employers and employees must submit tax returns even if the tax is deducted at source, reminding taxpayers that the deadline is March 31.
Taiwo Oyedle, Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform, has urged Nigerians to comply with the law and file annual tax returns, stressing that the obligation applies to both employers and individual taxpayers.
Oyedle made the call during a webinar organized in collaboration with the Joint Committee on Taxation for human resource managers, payroll officers, chief financial officers and tax managers. The webinar was posted on YouTube on Friday.
While addressing participants, he noted that many Nigerians still do not comply with the requirement to file self-assessment tax returns.
“In terms of filing tax returns, you as an employer are required to file annual returns for your employees. Many of you must have already done so. If you haven’t done so already, you only have a few days to file these returns, including a projection of how much you will pay your employees,” he said.
He added that individuals must also file their own tax returns regardless of whether their taxes are deducted at source.
“This is an area where we have been non-compliant in Nigeria. In many states, over 90 per cent – even the most sophisticated states cannot boast of a 5 per cent return on returns.” Oyedle said.
He argued that once employers deduct taxes from their wages, employees should not be held responsible for their obligations.
“Many people think that if they are employees and their employer has already deducted wages, they don’t have to do anything. This is wrong. You still have to file a tax return under both old and new tax laws,” he emphasized.
Oyedele assured Nigerians that the tax authorities are working to streamline the filing process.
“I am sure the tax authorities, the Joint Committee on Taxation and the state IRS are looking at ways to make this process simpler and easier. We all have to file tax returns, including low-income earners. You have to file your tax returns for the previous financial year by March 31 of that year,“he said.
He also revealed that under the new tax law, businesses that benefited from tax incentives must now declare such incentives when filing their tax returns.
“Under the new tax law, if you are operating as a business and enjoy certain incentives, you are obliged to disclose those incentives. There are disclosure requirements for tax incentives, but not everyone can disclose these incentives when taxpayers file their tax return or shortly thereafter, as per the general rules,” Oed added.
