The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said that tax compliance will only improve when payers are convinced that revenues are going to be used for the common good.
The Executive Chairman of FIRS, Muhammad Nami, stated this in his opening remarks at the launch of the Public Finance Database by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum in Abuja.
Nami argued that the low compliance rate in tax payments in most developing countries was a result of the failure of the social contract between the taxpayers and the government.
He noted that those in political leadership in the country have a duty to promote a tax-paying culture by relating projects and infrastructural development executed by them to taxes paid by taxpayers.
“Taxpayers need to see what has been done with their money to be encouraged to continue to fulfil their obligations under the social contract they have with the government.
“I am delighted that one of the sessions focuses on the tax-for-service programmes as they impact tax revenues.
