Business
FIRS announces 35 new Tax Audit Units to address illicit financial flow in Nigeria
The FIRS has added additional 35 tax audit units nationwide, to stem the high rate of illicit financial flow in the country.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) announced the creation of 35 new Tax Audit Units to combat illicit financial flow across the country.
The FIRS Chairman, Mr. Muhammad Nami, also disclosed that Nigeria lost $178 billion through tax evasion of foreign multinationals between 2007-2017.
READ: FIRS boss, Nami discloses why FIRS failed to meet revenue target under Fowler
This was disclosed by Director, Communications and Liaison Department, Mr Abdullahi Ahmad, in a statement in Abuja on Monday.
FIRS said that creation of the units was also in a bid to improve tax compliance in the country, citing the Chairman’s statements at a workshop in Abuja on Monday on “Effective Audit of Multinational Corporations for Domestic Revenue Mobilisation in Nigeria.”
READ: FIRS inaugurates online portal for financial institutions in the country
The FIRS Chief noted that a few multinational firms were leading in tax compliance in Nigeria, however, he also noted that a lot of multinationals are not paying their fair share of tax and don’t even do it voluntarily.
The FIRS Chairman also disclosed that Nigeria lost $178 billion through tax evasion of Multinationals operating in Nigeria, citing a 2014 report by High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, stating that Nigeria accounts for 30.5% of illicit financial flows in Africa.
READ: Finance Bill to use banks as agents to tax Nigerians
Nami said:
- “At the FIRS, we are paying greater attention to tax audit in general and Transfer Pricing audit in particular in order to improve the level of tax compliance in the country. As a result, in the last one year, we have created more than 35 additional Tax Audit Units and deployed experienced and capable staff to take charge of these offices.”
READ: FIRS set to sell properties of tax defaulters
What you should know
- Nairametrics reported that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) disclosed that its waivers on penalties and interest on outstanding taxes arising from desk examinations, audit exercises, investigations, or all other forms of tax assessment closed on December 31, 2020.
- The Service raked in the total sum of N4.178 trillion as revenue out of the personal target of N4.239 trillion – 98.6% of the revenue goal for 2020.
Business
Twitter to establish its first African presence in Ghana
Twitter has announced Ghana as headquarter of its operations in Africa.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter Inc has announced today in a tweet that the company is establishing a presence in Africa.
“Twitter is now present on the continent. Thank you, Ghana and Nana Akufo-Addo,” Dorsey tweeted.
As part of its mission to serve the public conversation, Twitter is making it easier for everyone to join in and provide more relevant experiences for people across the world.
Why Ghana as a choice…
Twitter stated that it chose to expand to Ghana first because the country is an advocate of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet.
In a blog post the company said, “In line with our growth strategy, we’re excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana. To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.”
“Furthermore, Ghana’s recent appointment to host The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with our overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to improve and tailor our service across Africa.
“Whenever we enter new markets, we work hard to ensure that we are not just investing in the talent that we hire, but also investing in local communities and the social fabric that supports them. We have already laid foundations through partnerships with Amref Health Africa in Kenya, Afrochella in Ghana, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and The HackLab Foundation in Ghana. As part of our long-term commitment to the region, we’ll continue to explore compelling ways we can use the positive power of Twitter to strengthen our communities through employee engagement, platform activation, and corporate giving,” Twitter stated.
The company is also looking to hire specialists to join several teams to operate in product, design, engineering, marketing and communications.
The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Gov’t and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. 1/3 #TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana https://t.co/HdCqFgXK0x
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) April 12, 2021
Reacting to Dorsey’s announcement, Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, in a tweet said that the government and people of Ghana welcome welcomed the micro-blogging site.
“The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is excellent news. Government and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country,” President Akufo-Addo tweeted.
Business
Youths need critical skills to strengthen Nigerian economy – Bankers Committee’s FITC
Nigerian youths need to embrace adequate skills and create a pool of well-engaged workforce to directly strengthen the nation’s economy.
Bankers Committee’s FITC has called on Nigerian youths to embrace adequate skills and create a pool of well-engaged workforce to directly strengthen the nation’s economy.
This was disclosed by the Managing Director, FITC, Chizor Malize, during the launch of its Future of Work Academy for Youths on Monday.
According to her, the initiative is to continuously bridge the knowledge gap in the country and Africa at large, as it is expected to equip the youths for the peculiar needs of the Future of Work.
It also seeks to solve the prevalent issue of producing university graduates with degrees and skills that have limited practical use in the current global job market, as well as the requirements for the Future of Work.
She said, “The world of work is changing rapidly, and competition for the right talent is fierce. Graduate talents have for decades been primarily identified and employed based on academic excellence, however, in the emerging world of work, creativity, innovation, and work-ready skills have become the non-negotiable indicators for competitive advantage, and to evaluate capabilities.
“It is therefore important for youths to build critical skills, that will equip them for the requirements of the Future of Work in the ever-evolving business landscape. The value FITC FOWA is bringing to corporations at this time cannot be overemphasized. By equipping youths and creating a pool of well-engaged workforce for organizations, FITC FOWA will be directly strengthening the economy and the society in general.”
Malize added that the initiative offers essential courses in Data Science, Data Analytics, Coding, Digital Marketing, Graphics Designs, MS Excel & Analytics, Digital Marketing, Use of PowerPoint, and other key areas that have been strategically packaged to educate, enlighten, and upskill undergraduates and graduates with the vital skills for the Future of Work.
What you should know
Owned by the Bankers Committee (CBN, NDIC and all Nigerian deposit money banks), FITC was established in 1981 as a non-profit organisation limited by guarantee to provide capacity building and serve as a knowledge hub for the Nigerian Financial Services Sector.
