‘Individuals must document tax returns March 31’, says Oyedele

Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has called on Nigerians to ensure they file their annual tax returns, stressing that compliance is required by law for both employers and individuals.

Oyedele made the call during a webinar organised for human resource managers, payroll officers, chief financial officers and tax managers, in collaboration with the Joint Revenue Board.

The webinar, which was posted on YouTube on Friday, focused on tax compliance and responsibilities under the current tax framework.

According to Oyedele, many Nigerians are still failing to meet their obligations, especially when it comes to filing self-assessment tax returns.

“In terms of filing returns, you need to file annual returns as employers for your employees. Many of you must have done that already. If you haven’t, you have just a couple of days left to file those returns, including projections of how much you will pay your staff,” he said.

He added that individual taxpayers must also file their self-assessment, noting that compliance in this area remains very low.

“This is one area where we have been non-compliant in Nigeria. In many states, more than 90%—even the most sophisticated states—cannot boast of 5% filing returns,” Oyedele said.

The tax reforms, he explained, clarify that employees cannot assume that their obligations end once employers deduct taxes from their salaries.

“Many people assume that if they are an employee and the employer has deducted pay, they don’t have to do anything. That is wrong. Both under the old and new tax laws, you must still file your returns.”

Oyedele assured Nigerians that authorities are working to make filing easier.

“I’m sure the tax authorities, joint revenue boards, and various state internal revenue services are working on how to make this process simpler and easier. All of us must file our returns, including those earning low income. You must file returns by 31st March of the year in respect of the previous fiscal year.”

He added that businesses enjoying tax incentives are now required to disclose them in their returns.

“Under the new tax law, if you operate a business as an enterprise and you enjoy certain incentives, you have the obligation to disclose those incentives. There’s a disclosure requirement for tax incentives that is not available to everybody as a general rule for taxpayers—to disclose them when filing their tax returns or shortly after.

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