FIRS launches intelligence system to track tax evaders, defaulters

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Millions of Nigerian tax evaders and defaulters may soon reach dead-end, as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has launched a national intelligence gathering system to gather data and track all tax evaders and defaulters.

It was gathered that the latest measure is being taken with a view to bringing all such individual and corporate evaders and defaulters to book and make them pay their fair share of taxes to the country.

Mr. Muhammad Nami, Executive Chairman, FIRS, was reported to have revealed this, in Abuja, recently during an inter-agency collaborative visit to Prof. Bolaji Owansanoye,

Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

According to Mr. Nami, the intelligence gathering system is information and communication technology, ICT-based, and the mechanism is being implemented in close partnership with the ICPC, other anti-corruption agencies, and the financial institutions to tackle economy-based crimes, including money laundering.

Abdullahi Ismaila, Director, Communications and Liaison Department, FIRS, in a statement related the Executive Chairman said: “The ICPC is our critical stakeholder. We are improving our collaboration with the ICPC to track tax fraud and block all revenue leakages to ensure that we raise the revenue for the government of Nigeria to fund its budget.

“We need the data and intelligence which you have to help us track tax evaders and bring them into the tax net.”

Prof. Owasanoye of the ICPC said his Commission was open to share data with the FIRS to track tax evaders, defaulters and tackle illicit financial flow in Nigeria to raise the revenue profile of the government.

“The collaboration between the FIRS and the ICPC is very important to Nigeria.

“One of the cardinal objectives of this Board of the ICPC is to widen the tax net. When we come across any company that is not tax compliant, we refer such a company to the FIRS.

“We have referred over 500 companies to FIRS. We want them to be captured in the tax net so that they continue to pay their taxes,” the ICPC Chairman said.