By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The Acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service , FCT-IRS, Mr Michael Ango has called for a synergy with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit ,NFIU, to boost tax compliance in the FCT.
Ango made this call when he paid a Courtesy on Tuesday visit to the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hajiya Hafsa Abubakar.
He explained that NFIU is one of the strategic stakeholders of the Service hence the need for the visit to strengthen the existing collaboration for the mutual benefits of the two organizations.
According to Ango, the visit was part of engagements with the key stakeholders of the FCT-IRS including NFIU, to solicit for support and cooperation that would enhance revenue collection and administration in the FCT.
The Acting Chairman stated a closer and stronger relationship between the two would foster progress of the FCT and the country in general.
The FCT-IRS boss noted that this can be achieved by sharing ideas, data, and information between the two organizations for improved operations.
In her remarks, the NFIU Chief Executive Officer, Hajiya Hafsa Abubakar who congratulated the Acting Executive Chairman on his appointment said that she was confident that under the leadership of Mr Ango, the service would continue to make significant strides by ensuring that the FCT stands out as an example for efficiency, effectiveness and integrity in revenue generation.
She explained that NFIU is the central national authority responsible for receiving reports from a broad range of local and foreign entities, analyzing these reports and producing intelligence adding that this intelligence is shared with law enforcement and security agencies as well as other authorities to combat crimes.
According to her, the NFIU recognizes that tax crimes particularly tax evasion is a serious offence, because it denies the government the resources it needs to invest in infrastructure and pay for services that contribute to the wellbeing and prosperity of citizenry.
“We also recognize that this issue is particularly important at the sub-national level due to the huge demand of public investment particularly health, education and social services, this led to our decision to explore partnerships with state internal revenue services.”
” I am pleased that the FCT-IRS is one of our first and indeed our most effective partners in this regard. The relationship we established with your office serves as a groundbreaking model, and we are now working with about 24 other state revenue services, we believe our efforts are making a significant contribution to domestic revenue mobilization across the federation.”
The NFIU boss said her agency would be willing to tap from the experience and knowledge of the Acting Executive Chairman in law, taxation and other areas of expertise to further enhance their operations.
