By Kolawole Ojebisi
Chairman of the presidential committee on tax policy and fiscal reforms, Taiwo Oyedele has said there is no intention to engage Alpha-Beta Consulting or any other consultant for tax collection in Nigeria.
Oyedele said this while addressing concerns about outsourcing tax collection to consultants like Alpha-Beta during a Channels Television-hosted town hall meeting on the tax reform bills on Monday.
Alpha-Beta is a consulting firm that has gained recognition through its work with the Lagos state government.
Oyedele identified the reliance on consultants for tax collection as a major issue hampering the Nigerian economy.
“In fact, we had a very interesting debate at the committee level. I wanted to put a language in the law that says no government should use a consultant to collect tax. We think that that is one of the biggest problems in our economy today,” he said.
“So I can confirm to you 100 percent there is no plan whatsoever in using consultant to do any of this.”
Oyedele emphasised that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is well-equipped to handle tax collection efficiently, thanks to its existing TaxPro Max platform.
He assured that only minor adjustments would be needed to align the platform with the proposed reforms.
“All that we need to do once we pass these bills, go to that system and amend the language, the algorithm, so that next time MTN is filing VAT returns, there is a request that says tell me the state where they have emanated from,” he explained.
He noted that the same approach would be applied to other major corporations, such as Dangote Group and financial institutions, ensuring compliance and effective tax collection without external assistance.
