The Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) in collaboration with Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has commenced training of 200 personnel of the Service to enhance productivity.
Head, Corporate Communications, of the service Mustapha Sumaila in a statement said the move is in tanderm with the mandate of the Service to constantly boost revenue generation in the FCT, efforts have been intensified towards capacity building.
The statement quoted the Acting Executive Chairman FCT-IRS, Mr. Haruna Abdullahi to have indicated while addressing the participants that capacity building is one of the core objectives of FCT-IRS as it aligns staff with the projects and evolving challenges faced by the Service, especially those pertaining to non-compliance and enforcement.
Abdullahi explained that tax officials need technical and verbal skills to effectively audit and interact with taxpayers especially the High Network Individuals and Politically Exposed Persons to ensure prompt compliance.
He added that the responsibility of the Service is key to the success of the FCT Administration hence, skillful tax men are needed to rapidly grow the tax net.
He stated that the topics to be discussed during the course of the training have been strategically selected to serve as key pointers to where the Service is headed which revolves around audit, investigation and enforcement.
According to him, the Service has concluded plan to commence the auditing of individuals especially High Network Individuals in the FCT with a view to ensure they pay their taxes correctly and promptly.
He noted that this is one of the reasons the Service decided to embark on the raining to prepare its employees on the task ahead.
While also recognising the global stance of the Institute, he commended the efforts of the President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Mr. Adesina Adedayo towards ensuring that highly experienced and witty facilitators were provided.
Commending the foresight and commitment of the Service towards capacity building and tax administration, the President of CITN, Mr. Adesina Adedayo while speaking, said the FCT-IRS is a unique and organised agency with an effective means of ensuring service delivery.
He also disclosed that in order to grow the Service from where it is presently to where it needs to be, infrastructure, system and capacity must be put in place.
He added that the role of enlightenment of taxpayers cannot be overemphasised as information dissemination and awareness drive compliance, thus, efforts must be made towards sensitisation in order to boost collection and eliminate ignorance as an excuse for non-compliance.
The Director, Human Capital Management and Development FCT-IRS, Mr. Umar Mohammed Jada in his address said the Service is fortunate to be in collaboration with CITN adding that the Service prioritises training and retraining of all staff in order to constantly improve service delivery and achieve the set goals and objectives of the Service.
The training is focusing on Tax Intelligence and Information Gathering, as well as Tax Audit and Investigation.