The International Centre for Tax Research and Development has warned the Federal Inland Revenue Service to restrict from introducing of multiple taxes in Value Added Tax as well as increasing the tax burden on the consumers.
It said it would make investors to abandon the manufacturing sector, which would affect the volume of imports coming into the country.
The president of ICTRD, Morenike Babington-Ashaye, said this in a statement.
She also said that presently, the cost of producing goods in the country was higher than the goods when imported.
Babington-Ashaye added that increasing VAT was not the solution as it could lead to employees being laid off from work, thereby increasing the rate of unemployment.
She said, “Taking VAT services to the market does not fit into the system of the VAT because they are traders and are intermediaries between the manufacturers and the distributors.
“Retailers have no value to add as there must be a value added to any product before VAT is charged, otherwise such tax becomes sales tax which will be an additional tax burden to the consumers.”
Morenike who is also a former chairman of the Ogun State Internal Revenue Service, appealed to the FIRS to collaborate with the Market Traders Association of Nigeria to ensure compliance by taxpayers.
She also urged it to monitor their payments instead of asking MTAN to add VAT, as it had been added to the goods during purchase.
ICTRD’s boss added that the way internal revenue could generate funds genuinely was to make sure that the legislators were adequately charged.
She reiterated that taxation was simple, and those who had embezzled public funds should be made to pay tax.
“Whether it is stolen money or not, as long as it is in one’s possession and it is a public fund, tax must be paid and companies must be monitored closely to ensure payment of correct taxes,” she said.
The foremost tax practitioner advised FIRS to look into companies that were used to laundering public funds secretly.
Morenike added that FIRS should go after high-network people, to see how they could generate funds, as there were lots of people with public funds, and those who had the commonwealth of the country in their possession.
