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By Henry Uche
In a bid to strengthen tax administration in Nigeria, the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has certified new tax practitioners from the law profession through its Tax Academy.
Speaking during the Legal Practitioners Conversion virtual training programme, a tax professional, Mrs Olukemi Okeowo, who lectured on Overview of Nigerian Tax System, charged the new tax practitioners to detach emotions as they practise along, but must take tax management and administration as a very serious fiscal and topical subject of discourse.
While raising their technical competence on tax practice, administration and functions, Okeowo reminded them to always strive to add value across the tax spectrum as legal practitioners. “You are uniquely positioned to add value across the tax spectrum: in tax advisory, dispute resolution, assisting clients on statutory compliance, educating clients and the public on their rights and obligations under the law, as well as contributing to the development of tax policy and legislation through professional bodies like the CITN and NBA,” she charged.
In a remark, the President of the Institute, Mr Innocent Ohagwa, who applauded the legal luminaries, noted that their decision to expand their expertise into the field of taxation reflects foresight and a clear understanding of the dynamic nature of fiscal governance in the modern era. Moreover, it is a recognition that taxation stands at the core of national development, fiscal stability and social progress of Nigeria.
Ohagwa informed that the Conversion Training Programme, as approved by the Council of the Institute, was borne out of its commitment to fulfilling with excellence the statutory mandate under its Charter, which obligates the Institute to determine the standards of knowledge and skill to be attained by anyone seeking to practise taxation in Nigeria.
“The taxation environment in Nigeria is undergoing profound transformation. With the new tax laws, greater responsibilities are placed on tax professionals of the CITN. We are now expected to play a more strategic role, not only in understanding the provisions and implications of the new laws but also in providing sound advisory services, ensuring accurate application and upholding the principles of taxation with the highest standards of technical competence, professionalism, and ethical integrity.”
The tax professional stressed that as legal practitioners with a deep understanding of Nigeria’s legal framework, becoming an effective tax professional requires more than a grasp of statutes, but it demands the ability to interpret those statutes within the context of finance, accounting, economics and tax code computations.
“Taxation is indeed multi-disciplinary involving law, economics, accounting and finance. This training programme has therefore been carefully designed to align with the CITN Tax Academy syllabus and to reflect current developments within Nigeria’s fiscal landscape,” he added.
