Stakeholders call for collaboration in tax administration to improve compliance

Stakeholders at the 22 annual tax conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in Lagos, unanimously agreed on Friday that collaboration between the tax authorities, practitioners and payers will improve compliance and enhance professionalism.

“There must be a mutual trust and respect between all three parties because the taxpayer is expected to trust the tax practitioner and part of that trust means that there has to be a better engagement,” Ayodele Subair, executive chairman, Lagos State Internal Revenue Service said during the panel session.

Speakers at the session were of the view that the three parties are working for a common goal and that there should be trust and respect which will lead to cordial relationship.

Other speakers who discussed the topic: ‘Nexus between Tax Practice, Managing a Tax Function and tax Administration’, include Azeez Alatoye, managing partner, Ascension Consulting Services, and Dayo Salako, head of tax, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited.

They called on the practitioners to take education and enlightenment of tax payers seriously. Also they said there should be advocacy to ensure autonomy of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The discussants said governance principle and ethical standards need to be established in tax administration.

“When we collaborate, it is going to increase transparency, and appropriate tax will go to the government. It is going to be the best for everyone”, the speakers agreed.

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Responding to a question on the informal sector, Subair said to include the sector in the tax net, there should be a good database.

“Informal sector players are almost non-existence. They deal in cash. Corporate governance is not in their priority. As tax administrator, you must know your customer,” Subair said.

Corroborating with Subair, Barizaage Adoage Norteh, executive chairman, River State Internal Revenue Service, said the informal sector is underdeveloped.

Sharing an experience on how River State is succeeding in capturing the informal sector, he said the technique they use is to deal with the union or association.

Norteh who spoke on ‘modalities for effective inclusion of informal sector in the Nigerian tax system’, during the second session, said one of the challenges is that some of these people do not have location and the issue of knowing and determining what they earn.

He was concerned that tax money is not always used for development. “We need to get the government to do a lot in terms of social contract,” Norteh said.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.