Ahead of paying taxes 2020

Ahead of next month’s launch of Paying Taxes 2020 report, questions are been raised whether Nigeria and other African countries have done enough to earn them improved ranking. Well-planned reforms allow tax payers time to plan, prepare and consult with tax authorities. Top-performing economies demonstrate this characteristic.

Governments improve on their tax systems, change tax rates, and even what is taxed for a variety of reasons, including increasing tax revenue, promoting growth, and innovation, reducing employment cost and reducing reliance on non-tax revenue.

For more than a decade, Paying Taxes as part of the World Bank Doing Business project, has compared tax systems across 190 economies, highlighting how technology is changing the way taxes are administered and collected, using a medium-sized case study company as the basis for the comparison.

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The question arises as global average results for case study Company used in the Paying Taxes 2019 were almost unchanged from last year despite that 113 economies recorded tax reforms.

Year-on-year, more and more businesses are able to file and pay their taxes online, resulting in substantial savings in time and cost. Also, introduction of new tax software, real time reporting systems and data analytics are changing the way companies meet their tax obligations and how tax authorities monitor and enforce those obligations.

The Paying Taxes 2019 shows that technology alone is not sufficient to improve performance. It noted that the steady reduction in both the number of hours it takes to file taxes and the number of payments companies have to make reflects the increasing use of technology across the world both by companies and tax authorities. As the cost of technology falls, more companies are using tax software, and more tax authorities are creating easierto-use online portals to simplify compliance.

Iheanyi Nwachukwu

Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with almost two decades journalism experience writing on banking, finance, capital markets, and tax. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA). Other trainings Iheanyi attended include: Economic/Political Risk Analysis (By Thomson Reuters Foundation); International Financial Journalism (IFJ) (By PMA Media Training, UK); Effective Business Writing Skills (By Phillips Consulting); Reporting on Corporate Governance (By International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Thomson Reuters Foundation UK); etc. In addition, he has participated in high-level economy & markets events in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, and other African countries like Zambia, Ghana and Gambia.