FCT-IRS commences aggressive tax drive

The Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) on Tuesday commenced an aggressive campaign to inculcate tax-payment culture in both individuals and organizations.

The Acting Chairman of FCT-IRS, Haruna Abdullahi, who led the roadshow, said awareness creation was one of the strategies the Service had adopted to hit its over N200 billion tax target.

Abdullahi noted that the Service has adopted several measures to change peoples’ negative attitudes towards tax payment.

While he noted that the sensitization campaign for improving tax will be intensified, he also disclosed that the Service may resort to extant laws to prosecute defaulters.

According to him, it is an offence for organizations and companies to fail in filing their tax returns as and when due.

He went further to explain that the campaign will not be limited to the city centre, but taken to all Area Councils, to ensure that all residents were properly carried along.

“The roadshow was to create an impression that FCT-IRS exists and also tell the public our roles and services we provide, and to also enlighten the public on their responsibilities to the country and FCT in particular.

“We have realized that in the past years a lot of people have asked, ‘is there FCT-IRS?’. So it is our intention that now every January will be our tax enlightenment drive.

“We want to let residents in Abuja know that they have the responsibilities to pay their taxes and also file their tax returns.

“They should know that March 31 is the deadline for filing tax returns, and there is a penalty for defaulting.

“One way of achieving our tax target of over N200 billion is by the awareness we are creating today so that more people will file their taxes and that will affect our bottom line.

“We are also taking our campaign to all the Area Councils and not just the city centre.

“The FCT-IRS is guided by personal income tax and the FCT tax Act”, he added.

On his part, the Director of Tax Operation FCT -IRS, Mr Malik Tukur, warned that tax evasion attracts sanctions.

“In other climes, people are arrested for evading taxes. We want everyone to file their annual returns as and when due,” Malik emphasized.

Also, the Director, Human Resource, FCT IRS, Mr Mohammed Jada, who spoke on the efficiency drive of the Agency, disclosed that programmes have been designed for the training and retraining of staff in order to build their capacity for maximum service delivery. (VON)