- The new Memorandum of Understanding, MoU will now help Nigeria through the FIRS to partner with the United Kingdom, and the UK through the HMRC for tax efficiency.
Nigeria strengthens tax capacity with the UK. This is recently ensured through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Nigeria through the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS and the United Kingdom, UK through His Royal Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
In specifics, this MoU signed in London is slated to enhance the collaboration between both tax authorities from the sovereign nations.
The FIRS of Nigeria affirmed that the MoU is critical as it is in line with the agency’s leadership core cardinals of building a tax administration that is backed up by data and an improved collaboration alongside stakeholder relations.
Nigeria Strengthens Tax Capacity with the UK: More Details
The Nigeria counterpart led by the FIRS Chairman who is also the President of the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA), expresses certainty that the MoU will expose the tax administration in Nigeria to the current best global standards in tax administration.
Muhammed Nami’s comments,
“I am certain that this relationship would equip our officers with the skills of the 21st century tax man,” he stated.
“Data is the new oil. Its collection, interpretation and consequent application for tax purposes has become crucial if the Service must be ahead of the taxpayer in the times we are in.
“With increased collaboration between the Service and tax authorities the world over—which is one of the cardinal pillars of this current management—meticulous and purposeful management, as well as strategic interpretation of the information we exchange between each other has become a fundamental element of inter-tax-authority relations.
“These, among several others, form the major areas where we would be collaborating on capacity building with the HMRC.
Jon Sherman, the Director of HMRC was in hand to receive his Nigerian counterpart through the Head of Capacity Building at the HMRC; David Yellowly, with an emphasis on the collaborative essence of the MoU.
David Yellowly reiterated that the two countries can now tackle issues surrounding the country by country reporting standards, capacity building, information exchange, transfer pricing, data, audit and the rest.
Similar Collaborative Effort From FIRS of Nigeria
It is important to recall that the current leadership of the FIRS has continued to embrace a similar collaborative approach with other tax authorities.
Typical of this is the recent MoU signed with Lagos State to collaborate in major tax affairs. The reason is not far-fetched as Lagos State houses more taxable businesses than any other state in the country and even sub-Saharan Africa.
The MoU with Lagos specifically covered areas that include; capacity building, information exchange, tax audit and more.
Perks of FIRS Collaboration
To wrap up the previous fiscal year, the FIRS declared a record ₦10.1 trillion in revenue in 2022.
This highest tax collection ever recorded in the history of the FIRS made a possibility according to the agency’s leadership as a result of frantic efforts to improve systems and human capacity.
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