FIRS extends deadline for tax waivers

In the spirit of offering palliatives, the Federal Inland Revenue Service had previously provided an option for taxpayers to fully settle their outstanding tax debts and obtain waivers for the associated penalty and interest charges.

Based on the initial communication, taxpayers who are interested in the waiver scheme should have fully settled such liabilities by 31 May 2020. However, the FIRS now considers it necessary to extend the waiver by a month (i.e. till 30 June 2020). I am sure this sounds good for a lot of taxpayers.

However, one may begin to wonder if this is the only possible palliative that the tax authority could grant to taxpayers. Some believe that tax collection should be frozen altogether but it is only reasonable that funds continue to move from Government - businesses - households to keep the economy running.

Thus, the important thing is to ensure that businesses are not crushed under the weight of an excessive tax drive to the point that they completely cease operations and get dispossessed of the ability to fund government spending. More importantly, there is a need to seek creative ways to encourage tax compliance to encourage tax compliance in these trying times.

Share your thoughts on the creative solutions for driving tax compliance. You may think about it this way, what would encourage you to pay your taxes as a business owner, employee etc.