The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria has said that it is important to support the government towards achieving a tax-driven economy.
Adesina Adedayo, the President and Chairman in Council, CITN, spoke during the 46th induction ceremony of the institute in Lagos, where 372 members were inducted into the profession.
He said, “the disruptions that were witnessed by the global economies occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic have forced the government to realise the impacts of taxation as one of the fiscal policy instruments needed for stability in the post pandemic era.
“It is imperative that as tax professionals, we should support the government towards achieving a tax-driven economy. The onus is on us to attain this feat by being proactive in developing strategies for tax policy formulation and administration among others.”
According to him, it was pertinent to emphasise that the induction ceremony was in compliance with the provisions of the CITN Act, CAP C10, laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, where the institute derived its powers to regulate and control the practice of taxation profession in all its ramifications.
He said the institute’s faculties had been at the forefront of responding to recent developments in the Nigerian tax landscape.
While noting that the institute was a key stakeholder in tax policy and administration in Nigeria, he said it had been able to respond to many of such policy issues in taxation, fiscal policy and economic policies of both national and subnational governments, together with regional and global affiliations.
Some of these responses in the recent times, he said, included: CITN position paper on the need to improve Internally Generated Revenue of the Federal Government; position paper on the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2021; position paper on the Review of the Personal Income Tax Act, Cap P8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and Personal Income Tax Amendment Act 2011; among many others.
Prince Ade-Tunde Oretuga, Chairman, Membership and Professional Conduct Committee, said the induction ceremony was a remarkable event as it represented the symbolic unleashing of a force of qualified tax practitioners and administrators who were the future leaders in the field of taxation.