Fakoyejo OlalekanThe Federal Government has decided to tax the 40 million market traders under the informal sector group, the Market Traders Association of Nigeria (MATAN).
According to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in a statement on Monday, the members of MATAN have agreed to a VAT Direct initiative which will see the government collect taxes directly from the market traders.
The VAT Direct initiative was created by the FIRS to collect taxes from the market traders, as well as eliminate multiple taxations in the informal sector.
In the statement, FIRS said: “A collaboration between FIRS and MATAN where MATAN promotes awareness on VAT collection and remittance in the marketplace and informal sector, while also simplifying VAT payment and remittance for the marketplace and informal sector using a purpose-built digital platform.”
The taxation of the informal sector is expected to raise revenue generation FIRS collect on behalf of the Federal, State and Local Governments.
The FIRS said taxing members of the Market Traders Association of Nigeria will increase capital for infrastructure projects and social amenities.
“This will also boost VAR revenue generation for the three tiers of government, which in turn means more money to fund infrastructure and social amenities,” part of the statement disclosed.
Commenting about the VAT Direct initiative with MATAN, the Executive Chairman, FIRS, Muhammad Nami, said: “This collaboration between the FIRS and MATAN is our collective contribution to national development and nation-building. We must collectively see to its seamless implementation and abide by the terms of our MoU, especially in the area of transparency and reporting. This will help to build public confidence and trust in the project.”
“In order to adequately cover all the essential areas of project operations, and to ensure transparency and accountability, a combined monitoring and evaluation team, comprising FIRS officers and MATAN members will be formed immediately. This team would also be saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that VAT remittance is promptly done under the agreed platform,” he added.
Noting the financial impact of MATAN on the revenue generation of the government, Nami said: “We are convinced that the VAT Direct Initiative which is technology driven, has the potential to enable us deliver on our aims and objectives as contained in the MoU.
“Given the strength of MATAN with well over Forty Million members and the biggest player in the market space across all 774 local governments and 37 states of the federation and FCT, it is a mix of the formal and informal business community made up of manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, importers, exporters and other sectors such as; hospitality, entertainment, beauty shops, haulage, among several others.”
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