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By Chinwendu Obienyi
The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has urged its members to constantly engage and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s Impact Assessment of the OECD Tax Deal even as it inducted 826 tax professionals into different cadres of the institute.
The President/Chairman of Council of CITN, Mr Adesina Adedayo, who made this charge during its 47th induction ceremony in Lagos recently said, to effectively contribute towards efficient and effective tax administration in Nigeria, its members must as a matter of necessity, constantly upskill their knowledge on global trends on taxation.
“We are faced with myriads of challenges as tax professionals, but in the midst of these challenges, tax implications of the digitalised economy are perhaps the most urgent that bedevils revenue authorities, policymakers of governments, international organisations and tax professionals.
“It behooves us as tax professionals who are the “Hope of the Nation” to constantly engage and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s Impact Assessment of the OECD Tax Deal,”
The CITN President also warned the new inductees to ensure professionalism, ethical practices and stand by the values, vision and mission of the institute while they do their jobs in their respective calling.
He said, “It is pertinent to restate to the inductees that the expectations of Council on you are now broad-based. You are required to project the Institute positively through ethical conduct and by striving for excellence at all times. As you progress in your various fields, do not fall into the trap of complacency. The Institute expects you to hold in high esteem her core values which have been redefined as service, teamwork, excellence and professionalism (S.T.E.P),”
Adedayo urged the inductees to strictly adhere to CITN’s guidelines and principles in the course of their professional engagements.
He said, “As a check mechanism, the Council of CITN has in place an Investigating Panel which is empowered by the Charter to investigate cases of professional misconduct as they affect members. The Disciplinary Tribunal is also awake to its function of disciplining any member found wanting.
Tax administration in Africa and indeed Nigeria remain unclear on the most effective and efficient way to tax the digital economy, yet the challenges arising from technological advancement and intricate business models continue to mount; thus, increasing the likelihood of tax revenue leakages”.
He reiterated that the Institute was leaving no stone unturned to boost the value of its certification. Some of efforts put in, in this regard he said, was the introduction of customised stamps to be used by Tax Practitioners in filing tax returns and to be affixed on correspondences.
“The Institute have also intensified engagements with relevant strategic government institutions on the need to place at the helm of affairs, Tax professionals in Ministries, Agencies and Departments”, he added.
Similarly, the chairman, membership & Professional conduct committee, Prince Tunde Aretuga, maintained that the different status awarded to the new inductees comes with a lot of expectations and further commitment to the affairs of the Institute, saying, “To whom much is given, much is expected” he asseverated.
On his part, the Registrar/chief Executive of the institute, Adefisayo Awogbade, posited that there was a dire need for tax professionals following the level of non-compliance in tax remittance which has nose dived in most parts of the world. “It is sufficient to say that the demand for knowledge and certification of professionals in this field of study will help to accelerate a level of compliance that has never been recorded,” he emphasised.
