The Federal government through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has partnered with Afropolitan Media Limited to launch a national sensitization and capacity-building training program for over 50 finance correspondents.
The first training was held on March 29, 2023 at Golden gate Hotel, Keffi LGA of Nasarawa state, with finance correspondents from both legacy and new media organizations in attendance.
The training program is essential due to the reforms initiated by the FIRS under the leadership of its Executive Chairman, Mr. Muhammad Nami, and the new challenges posed by e-commerce.
The workshop aims to bring participants up to date on current challenges faced by tax authorities and the importance of the media reporting ethically and responsibly in close collaboration with the FIRS.
Hajiya Halilu praised Mr. Nami and the FIRS for supporting a capacity-building training programme for media professionals.
The theme is “The Role of the FIRS in Driving the Nation’s Tax Administration for Nation-Building”.
Participants were taken through three modules by distinguished chartered accountants, Malam Shehu Olaitan Mohammed and Mr. Ma’roof Ibraheem Ajibola. Malam Mohammed delivered the module on “General Overview of the Nigerian Tax Ecosystem,” while Mr. Ajibola took the finance correspondents through another set of two modules entitled “FIRS: Roles, Responsibilities and Administration” and “Reforms and Innovations in the FIRS: Tax Promax, SENTINAL and Financial Acts” since the appointment of Mr. Nami as Executive Chairman, FIRS in December 2019 till date.
Malam Mohammed delivered the module on a “General Overview of the Nigerian Tax Ecosystem”, breaking it down to the basics in concise, clear bits covering federal, state and local government tax administrations, the types of taxes each level is backed by law to collect and the operational setup of the FIRS, the taxes the Service collects, their percentages and other technical details in taxation.
The FIRS has modernized the Nigerian Tax Administration and integrated it into the global taxation system through cutting-edge, homegrown Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and partnership with tax authorities across the world.
The Tax Promax automated tax software currently in use by the FIRS was conceived and built by FIRS staff under the direction of Mr. Nami, and the FIRS uses the global SENTINAL software system to track and tax e-commerce transactions in Nigeria.
The FIRS/Afropolitan capacity-building program for professional media practitioners is scheduled to continue in Kaduna and Kano.
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