Amid the growing revenue strains, the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Muhammad Nami, has appealed to corporate bodies especially, telecommunications, financial services companies, manufacturers, e-commerce and supermarkets, believed to be experiencing increased business activities in spite of the current lockdown to pay their taxes in time.
The total number of Covid-19 confirmed cases rose to 1,182 with 87 new cases recorded as at 11.55pm yesterday while the discharged rose to 222 and 35 deaths. The breakdown of the 87 cases are as folows: 33 in Lagos, 18 in Borno, 12 in Osun, 9 in Katsina, 4 in Kano, 4 in Ekiti, 3 in Edo, 3 in Bauchi while Imo recorded its index case.
This is as Kano has continued to experience increase in the number of unexplained deaths, bringing the total estimated death toll to 640.
Also yesterday, the United States of America, the world’s epicentre of the COVID-19 closed in on 1 million infected cases while the number of death crossed 54,000. With more than 2,920,738 infected cases worldwide and a total of 203,255 deaths reported according to Worldometer.
Back home, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) yesterday refuted reports that a senior member of staff at the agency had been diagnosed with COVID-19. A statement by NPA’s General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, Jatto A Adams, described the report as baseless and unfounded.
In another breath, the Lagos State government has given Lagosians with dead relatives in mortuaries two weeks to bury them else it would give them up for mass burials. This followed alleged congestions in mortuaries in the state in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, worried by the effects of the lockdown on economic activities, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has unveiled a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, a plan that requires the federal government to grant the private sector some 60 per cent salary support till June 2020.
NECA, a platform for over 3,500 private sector employers, warned that failing to consider the scheme could compel private firms nationwide to take hard business decisions, which it said, might lead to the loss of several millions of jobs in the sector.
This notwithstanding, the Enugu State government has begun to pay additional 25 per cent COVID-19 allowance for all health workers in the state as part of its commitment to contain the spread of Coronavirus in the state as well as cushion the effect of the lockdown.
However, speaking on the current economic downturn occasioned by the shutdown in the global economy to address the pandemic, Nami said the development had taken a huge toll on government’s finances, thereby putting additional pressure on revenue generating agencies, including the FIRS to bridge budget funding gaps.
Specifically, he suggested that the identified businesses should commence the payment of their annual returns earlier than the due date, apart from their normal monthly obligations.
In a statement titled: “Update on Palliative Measures to Cushion Effect of COVID-19 on Taxpayers – 22nd April 2020”, which was posted on the agency’s Twitter handle @firsNigeria, Nami, said the move had become necessary to “ease some of the cash flow gaps being experienced by the government at this critical time”.
While further acknowledging the difficulty faced by businesses due to COVID-19, he nevertheless urged them to “go the extra mile at this time to cooperate with us in making special arrangements to pay their taxes”.
The FIRS boss, who had earlier announced some palliatives for taxpayers in the form of regulatory forbearance, noted that his latest appeal was to seek high level cooperation from taxpayers, whose sectors are experiencing a boom and significant increase in income at the present time.
Although he did not mention the names of the individual companies, he said processors of certain products among others were expected to comply.
Telecommunications service providers including voice and data services, financial services providers as well as online sales have witnessed a spike in commercial activities following the restrictions of movement by the government.
Nami had sometime in March, expressed the agency’s commitment to meeting the N8.5trillion revenue target for the year, despite the current economic challenges.
Addressing members of staff, he urged them to take up challenge and justify the confidence the country had reposed in the service particularly at this “critical time, when virtually all the other sources of revenue for government are being challenged especially, by the coronavirus pandemic, the downward slide in the price of oil at the international market for as low as $30 per barrel against $57 benchmark used for the budget.”
Nami therefore said several measures had been taken since assuming office to boost the welfare of staff as well as encourage them to give their best to improving its revenue profile, adding that, “We shall not relent in providing the right environment for you to succeed”.
According to him, “When the federal government set the N8.5 trillion target, it must have realised that we are equal to the task. As hub of the operations of the service, you are therefore expected to deliver the bulk of the target while the other groups support you.” (Thisday)
