FIRS new initiative will hamper tax remittance, say stakeholders

Tax consultants have said the implementation of the Federal Inland Revenue Service Tax Administration Solution, also known as TaxPro-Max, will hamper tax remittance in the coming months.

The Managing Consultant, Sky Stream Consulting, Aimuihenyefe David, described the shift to the new system as an ill-informed move.

He said, “The FIRS did a cut-off on June 7, which was a wrong move. If you are introducing a system, you allow it to run, and you run it digitally and manually first.

“The platform itself is a good thing, but its implementation so far is poor. The cut-off was sudden, although the FIRS claims it has been in existence before now and had experimented on it before. But the issues that existed then were left unresolved. Bringing it to the small and medium-sized enterprises at this stage too is a wrong move.”

According to the FIRS, TaxPro-Max enables seamless registration, filling, payment of taxes, automatic credit of withholding tax and other credit to taxpayer’s accounts.

David, however, described the system as cumbersome, saying applicants had to go to the FIRS office to physically update their database.

He said, “You can’t pay tax if you do not generate a document identification number. To get a DIN number, you first have to go to the FIRS office to get an update form.

“This is hard because even the FIRS has a problem with its network. It is a short process, but extremely difficult. I suspect that the volume that they have to contend with presently is a major problem for them.

“I think revenue will drop in June seriously for the FIRS because of the way the TaxPro-Max is being implemented. Before you can make payment now, you have to update your record, get a DIN, then still battle with the banks.

David said he was in three tax offices recently, and a lot of people with cheques and cash wanted to make payments but could not.

“It will affect revenue in the short run. Although, it would pick up in the long run,” he added.

Another tax consultant who pleaded anonymity said the new platform would not increase the number of taxable Nigerians.

She said, “The new system won’t increase collection because it is stressful for taxpayers to make payment on this new system. Filing of returns is a lot more cumbersome now.

“Personally, there are 10 companies I have been trying to make tax payments for. I have been trying to file Value Added Tax returns, but I can’t do that electronically; I still have to go to FIRS physically. And most times, when you get to the FIRS office, they do not have network.

“As I speak to you, I am staring at my laptop in the office, trying to log in for one of our clients to file their Company Income Tax, but it has not been successful. To make payment with this new platform is very difficult.”

Another tax consultant who spoke on condition of anonymity said there were a lot of issues with the new system.

“This month would be a bad month for the FIRS. I have people that want to pay N10m, N5m, N500,000 but can’t make payment because they are not on the platform. This has been going on for two weeks now,” he said.

PUNCH