‎By Olawumi Oyehan

‎In order to simplify tax administration in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS), on Tuesday, launched Taxporta, a new digital tax management platform.

‎At a stakeholders’ engagement with MDAs held at the National Assembly Library Trust Fund Complex in Abuja, the Executive Chairman FCT- IRS, Mr Michael Ango, reiterated the Service commitment to continue to improve its services to make filing of taxes easier for all taxpayers, Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs).

‎The essence of the stakeholders engagement is targeted at sensitising MDAs on the implementation of Nigeria’s 2025 tax reforms to ensure voluntary compliance, get first hand feedback from the agencies representatives, as well as to prevent multiple taxation.

‎He said the new portal represents an upgrade of the agency’s existing digital infrastructure to provide taxpayers with faster, safer and more efficient services.

‎According to him, the initiative aligns with the service’s digital transformation agenda and is designed to enable taxpayers complete virtually all tax-related transactions without visiting FCT-IRS offices.

‎He noted that Taxporta is an end-to-end self-service platform through which taxpayers can register, file returns, calculate taxes, make payments, generate receipts and obtain tax clearance certificates without third-party assistance.

‎”Of course, we have a digital agenda. Any serious institution, whether in the public or private sector, has to move with the times…In essence, this is a continuation of our own digital innovation process to ensure that we are able to service our taxpayers so they can do all the things they need to do in the comfort of their homes or offices, without having to leave and come to interact with us physically,” he said.

‎Ango explained that the portal has been configured to reflect the provisions of the new tax laws, allowing taxpayers to input their income while the system automatically computes tax liabilities, applies statutory allowances and facilitates payments, issuance of receipts and tax clearance certificates.

‎”All the allowances provided under the law have been imputed into the system. Essentially, you are only going to have to put in your income, all of the rest of the work, things like tax clearance, payments of taxes, and all will be done on the portal,” he stated.

‎He expressed confidence that the new platform would strengthen revenue collection and help the Service exceed its annual revenue targets.

‎”Our focus, as always, is to ensure that we collect the maximum tax. If I tell you that we are focused on 400 billion or 500 billion, at the end of the year we may do 600 billion,” he said.

‎On enforcement, the FCT-IRS Chairman said the Service would continue to prioritise voluntary compliance over sanctions.

‎”The law has already provided timelines for penalties, but I don’t like to focus on penalties when I talk to taxpayers because it makes it seem as if you are just waiting to impose punitive measures. For us, the first line is always voluntary compliance.

‎”Even when people or government agencies are not able to comply, if there is a valid reason, we are always willing to give an extension of time. It is only when we discover that a taxpayer has become recalcitrant or is wilfully refusing to comply that we can begin to talk about penalties,” he said.

‎Ango further explained that the FCT-IRS occupies a unique position as both a Federal Government agency and an agency of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), making collaboration with MDAs essential to effective revenue administration.

‎He said the stakeholder engagement was organised to ensure a seamless transition from the previous platform to the upgraded system while strengthening partnerships with government institutions.

‎He added that improved tax compliance would support the ongoing transformation of Abuja through increased funding for infrastructure and public services.

‎Highlighting the importance of internally generated revenue (IGR), Ango stated that the FCT depends largely on tax revenue to finance infrastructure and development projects.

‎”The reality is that the FCT, as an institution, is only funded, apart from the IGR, by 1 per cent of the allocation to the Federal Government. So in a month in which the Federal Government gets, for example, 600 billion, the FCT will only get 6 billion Naira from the Federation Account. There may be some Value Added Tax, and then the bulk of the funds that the FCT is able to access comes from its service,” Ango said.

‎In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, Hon Henry Nwauna, described the engagement as a strategic initiative aimed at strengthening collaboration between government institutions and tax authorities.

‎”This engagement is strategic. It reflects commitment of government institutions to strengthening collaboration, deepen mutual understanding, and promote compliance with tax obligations in support of sustainable national development,” Nwauna stated

‎Nwauna emphasised that stronger cooperation, transparency and accountability among MDAs and tax authorities are critical to improving revenue generation and financing national development.

‎Also speaking, Tax Controller, MDA Tax Office, FCT-IRS, Fatima Abubakar, urged MDAs and taxpayers to comply with the provisions of the 2025 Nigerian Tax Reform Acts to avoid penalties.

‎She explained that the sensitisation focused on the provisions of the Nigerian Tax Administration Act (NTAA) 2025 and other new tax reform laws, including tax registration, filing of returns, assessments and issuance of tax clearance certificates.

‎Abubakar stressed that every taxable individual, business and government institution must obtain a taxpayer identification number (TIN) and comply with tax obligations under the new legal framework, noting that proper understanding of the jurisdiction of tax authorities would also help prevent revenue losses arising from incorrect remittances.

‎Abubakar also used the medium to appeal to all MDAs to remit their employers deduction promptly, and warned that the tax authority has the right to automatically register and generate TIN for taxable persons with their NIN.

‎According to her, with the new tax reform, apart from taxes from salary, all tax payers and individuals are expected to pay taxes on every benefit, allowances being enjoyed from the office.

‎” All benefits in kind and cash are taxable because they are perks of the office, e.g 5 per cent of the value of the official car, and one hundred thousand naira fine for incomplete tax filing in the first month, and fifty thousand naira for subsequent months,” she stated.

‎She also stressed the need for agencies awarding contracts to vendors to request for their tax clearance certificate (TCC) before awarding the contract, or be prepared to pay five million naira fine.

‎One of the participants, the Manager in charge of Tax at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Mohammed Ali, commended the FCT-IRS for organising the stakeholder engagement, describing it as a commendable initiative that would strengthen collaboration between the tax authority and taxpayers.

‎According to him, the engagement would boost stakeholders’ confidence and promote transparency in the discharge of the service’s responsibilities.

‎”I think it’s worthwhile. I think it’s very important, and we really appreciate the tax authority for organizing such an engagement. I think it will boost stakeholders’ confidence as well as that shows a lot of levels of transparency in the discharge of their functions,” added.