By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) said it has begun moves to meet with strategic stakeholders in the nation’s capital to address cases of double taxation.
Dr Jumai Ahmadu, Director FCTA department of Reform Coordination and Service Improvement, at the weekend disclosed that major players in the business environment will be meeting with FCTA officials within the week to resolve the tax collection menace.
She said the Administration is committed to resolving all identified bottlenecks round tax collection in the FCT.
According to her, the one-day event, titled: “Evaluating and Tackling issues on Multiple Taxation in the FCT”, will be attended by top representatives from the six Area Councils in the FCT and the Ngerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA), whose persistent complaints necessitated the retreat.
The director disclosd that those expected at the event will include, Chairmen, Senate and House Committees on FCT, Sen. Abubakar Kyari and Hon. Abdullahi Garba, respectively, as well as the FIRS Chairman, Muhammad Nami and DG, Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR), Dr. D. I. Arabi, among several others.
However, two papers will be presented at the event, “The Constitutional Provision of Tax/Revenue Collection in Nigeria with Special Recourse to Issues of By-laws and Effect on Tax Administration of the FCT Area Councils” and “The Challenges of Tax Administration with Specific Focus on Multiple Taxation, Non-availability of Unified Data for Tax Collection and Tax Touting in FCT.”
In addition to the presentations, an overview of audited reports of the Area Councils, which would be done by the Auditor-General, FCT Area Councils, she stated.
Ahmadu expressed the hope that the meeting would also help to iron out all contentious issues, restore trust and confidence in the taxation process, which she pointed out that it would boost IGR generation and improve service delivery in the FCT.
