FIRS chief says taxation critical to attainment of Vision 20:2020

The Acting Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Services FIRS, Mr Kabir Mashi, has said that taxation was critical to the attainment of the Vision 20:2020.Mashi said this at the Bafinex Expo Week Seminar in Lagos. He noted that there were calls for Nigeria’s to reduce reliance on crude oil for revenue, saying that taxation was a reliable and sustainable revenue source that would guarantee meaningful economy growth.
He urged the Federal Government to build Nigerians’ confidence in the nation’s tax system. “The basic canons of a good tax system which includes certainty, flexibility, impartiality and fiscal adequacy must be visible. There should be a customer-focused service delivery to endear tax payers to the tax system.
“There should also be a sustained multimedia campaign that will project taxation as an instrument for national development and not servitude,” he said. Mr Gimba Ya’ukumo, the Managing Director, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), said at the fair that the bank had projected to provide four million houses for workers in the next 10 years. Ya’ukumo said that FMBN had disbursed about N28.5 billion as loans for estate development and construction in the last 32 months in an effort to achieve the target. He said that the bank was committed to catering for the housing needs of every Nigerian, irrespective of his economic status.
“We have started granting loans to workers in the informal sector, who have been discriminated against because of their inconsistent income. They are artisans, petty traders, drivers and `okada’ riders, who make daily earnings. We realised that they are usually committed to financial obligations imposed on them by the various cooperative societies to which they belong. We have entered into partnerships with 820 cooperative societies since 2012 and we have acquired 15,806 informal workers, who now contribute to the National Housing Fund.
“By virtue of their contributions, these people are now entitled to loans from FMBN,” he said. Ya’ ukumo added that the bank was championing  bills at the National Assembly to guarantee easy access to lands and reduce challenges faced by house builders.