FIRS Urges African Governments To Provide Value For Taxes Paid By The Public

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) tasked African governments on providing value for taxpayers’ money.

This, the service said, would improve revenue collection on the continent.

Executive chairman of FIRS, Muhammed Nami said this on Thursday, in a statement by Johannes Wojuola, his special assistant on media and communication.

Nami made the call at the opening ceremony of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) 7th general assembly, held in Lagos on Tuesday.

The event was themed, ‘rethinking revenue strategies: the human face of taxation’.

Nami said it was imperative for African tax administrators to mobilise and speak with one voice as a regional bloc on global tax issues for their collective interests.

“The fiscal social contract which hinges on the willingness of the citizens to pay tax in return for the provision of public service, is a clarion call on the government at all levels in Africa to rethink governance,” he said.

“In my view, if we must transform the tax system and enhance revenue collection in Africa, there is a need for the governance at all levels to engender public confidence and trust in government by providing value for taxpayers’ money.”

Nami added that governments should reconsider how projects are reported in the public space, with such reports communicating to convey the idea that taxpayers’ money is used to fund infrastructural projects.