Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen, President, Court of Appeal (PCA) Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami, Chairman, Nigerian Law Reform Commission (NLRC) Kefas Magaji and others have given hints on how the country can raise its dwindling revenue.
Onnoghen, Bulkachuwa, Malami, Magaji, Director General, Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Afam Ezekude and his counterpart in the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, (NILDS), Prof. Ladi Hamalai suggested a holistic reform of the nation tax legal regime to ensure more Nigerians are captured within the tax system.
They are of the view that a robust and efficient tax legal regime will aid the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to effectively apply existing tax laws, which in turn, will result in enhanced tax earnings for the country.
They spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at the opening session of a workshop on the reform of the FIRS (Establishment) Act, 2007, held by the NLRC.
The CJN, epresented by Justice Kumai Akaahs of the Supreme Court, noted that the nation urgently needed to diversify its sources of revenue to remain afloat in view of the dwindling income from oil.
Onnoghen said: “I think it is about time that our tax laws are reformed in such a way that it is not just only wage earners (those who work in the office) that pay tax.
“We must ensure that everybody, who is engaged in any economic activity also pays his/her tax, ” the CJN said.
The PCA, who was represented by Justice Emmanuel Agim of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, noted that the success of any reform initiative in the tax sector was dependent on the disposition of the implementing agency.
Bulkachuwa said: “Law reform must be a continuous process. It helps the laws of the land to meet the change circumstances of the society so as not to render law irrelevant to the new circumstances of the time.
“The starting point for an effective reform is a demonstrated commitment by the principal enforcing authority to the ethical, transparent, efficient and effective application of the existing law particularly, the underlying principles.
“Without this, while reform may generate legislative and structural changes, it will not be effective. This will ensure that proposals for reform, which comes mainly from the principal enforcer of the law, are genuine, well informed and experience inspiring,” the PCA said.
Malami praised the NLRC for the initiative, which he said was in line with the nation’s need to diversify its revenue sources.
The AGF, who was represented by the Director, International Comparative Law Department, Mrs. Stella Anuka, urged the workshop participants to ensure that all existing inadequacies in the current FIRS Act were identified and thoroughly addressed.
The Nation
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