Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), has blamed the failure of some businesses in the country on multiple taxation. Mr . Koffi Abassi, the Head, Micro and Small Tax Payers Department, said this at the 2013 National Revenue summit organised by Centre for Economic Research and Development.

The summit sought to explore ways to improve revenue generation, allocation and monitoring in the three tiers of government. He said that one of the factors contributing to multiple taxation was the contracting of private agents by some states to collect taxes on commission basis.

Abassi said that though it could be argued that the practice had resulted in improve debt recovery rate for some states, it however had a negative effect on the economy.

He said that one of the negative effects was the allegation of imposition of multiple charges on innocent businesses.

“When you use tax contractors you virtually have less control over their modus operandi. They are interested in using the means they feel expedient to get more commission even when the method applied is wrong. Because of all these, the National Economic Council (NEC) made up of the 36 governors and former heads of states among others recently resolved to abolish the use of tax contractors in the country. This is because of the perceived burden on citizens due to multiplicity of taxes imposed by these tax contractors,” he said. Abassi advised states that want to use tax contractors to only engage them to play advisory roles.

He said that they could be also engaged in capacity building and education of the informal sector on the importance of paying tax. Mr Omar Hambagda, former Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Privileges said the legislature’s most important role was its function in budgetary allocations. Hambagda in a paper on the role of the legislature in appropriating funds for government use said that legislative control of the country’s finances was meant to curb the excesses of the executive.

“The legislature has the final say in appropriating funds as they represent the people, therefore, better equipped to direct resources to areas that are most beneficial to them. “The legislature can approve or reject out rightly, any demand for appropriation of funds, or accept it with modification and amendments when it deems it necessary,” he said.

Participants were drawn from State Houses of Assembles, Local Governments Councils, States and Local Government Boards of Internal Revenue Service, among others.