Tunde Fowler, Chairman, African Tax Administration Forum. Photo credit/FIRS
Safe Nation Needs Economic Prosperity, Fowler Tells NDC Class
The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Tunde Fowler, yesterday urged a class of Course 26, Nigeria Defence College, Abuja to spread the ‘gospel’ of the importance of taxation to their colleagues, friends and family members because no nation is ever safe without economic prosperity.
Fowler said taxation is the only source of revenue for the government which can guarantee economic prosperity.
The FIRS Chairman was a guest lecturer in the Academy and he spoke on the relationship between taxation and development in Nigeria.
“Economics has a lot to do with politics. You may have the best leader with the best ideas but if the leader does not have the resources to run the government, his ideas will be meaningless”, said Fowler.
Congratulating the Nigeria’s defence infrastructure for keeping Nigeria safe, Fowler noted: “There is no safe nation without economic prosperity. And it is only taxation that can do this”.
Fowler told the NDC class that Nigeria has to be self-dependent as the era of aids and grants has gone. He noted that African countries should know that and begin to work on how to fund their respective budgets themselves.
He noted that the need to create tax awareness in Nigeria has encouraged the FIRS to create a new department, Federal Education and Enlightenment Tax Team (FEETT) whose responsibility is to go to streets and markets and remote places to talk about taxation.
The FIRS boss also said he is deploying massive Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the administration of the FIRS and collaborating with the Joint Tax Board in order increase tax revenue.
The Commandant of the NDC, Rear Adm.Adeniyi Osinowo thanked Fowler for making himself available to lecture the class on the all-important issues—taxation.
Osinowo said Nigeria has the potential to grow its revenue bigger, through taxation.