The Federal Capital Territory Inland Revenue Service (FCT-IRS), says tax remitted to the government is translating to the ongoing infrastructural development in the city.
The Acting Chairman of FCT-IRS, Mr Haruna Abdullahi said in Abuja on Sunday appealed to FCT residents on the need to be more patriotic and tax compliant in a bid to support the FCT administration’s efforts to drive economic and infrastructural growth.
According to Abdullahi, people should see it as a civic duty and every person, especially those who succeed in their endeavours owe the society tax.
While dismissing assertions in some quarters that tax remitted in Nigeria does not translate to infrastructure development, Abdullahi described the situation in FCT as different.
According to him, these concerns will always be there but what I always tell people is to drop it and do their own part.
“It is your civic duty to pay your tax.
“Whether or not you think that the infrastructure currently in Abuja is not up to your standard.
“But if anything happens, you go to the police station and you go to the hospital, it shows things are happening but you as a person what have you put into the basket.
“When you put into the basket you now have the moral right to say look I have contributed this and am not seeing this, you will now interrogate the leadership.
“You ask questions but the truth is that people are just here living in Abuja, doing businesses, making tons of money and yet they are not contributing to the basket.”
According to him, where do you think the leadership will get the money to fund this infrastructure.
“Everywhere in the world, taxpayers develop cities, develope countries, develope states and I think that should continue to happen and that is what we are encouraging.
“You have a civic duty, have you done that, have you paid into the pool where the administration that you are now querying is not providing infrastructure,’’ Abdullahi said.
He said that citizens’ right to interrogate the government could better be enforced when they pay their tax promptly.
“What is your civic duty, have you done it.
“Put it in the pool then you can interrogate, you can now ask questions. When you pay your taxes you can interrogate, but when you don’t pay anything you don’t add to anything,’’ he said.
He also decried the idea of Nigerians investing their money outside the country.
“You are not contributing but you are willing to make money, probably take it out of the country and invest it elsewhere and knowing that immediately you take your money out of the country it will be taxed.
“You are willing to pay taxes somewhere else but you are not willing to pay taxes at home so I think these are all the perceptions or misconceptions that we are trying to change, especially in this year 2022,’’ he said.
He urged residents to take advantage of the company’s help desk to lodge tax complaints and promised that a help desk as well as dedicated helplines were introduced by the service to ensure seamless tax processes.
“People can equally visit our website or social media platforms for information on tax returns and other tax matters,” he said.
Abdullahi said, “for instance our USSD Code for Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). is *7737*22# which can be verified using a registered phone number, NIN or BVN.
