Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Services (FCT-IRS) has said that it may resort to extant laws to prosecute defaulters, as it intensifies sensitisation campaign to actualise the agency’s N200 billion target.
The acting chairman of FCT-IRS, Haruna Abdullahi, who led a road show in Abuja, said awareness creation was one of the strategies the agency had adopted to inculcate tax-paying culture on both individuals and organisations.
Abdullahi noted that the agency has adopted several measures to change people’s negative attitudes towards tax paying, adding that it is an offence for organisations and companies to fail in filing their tax returns as and when due. He said the campaign will not be limited to the city centre, but to all area councils, to ensure that all residents were properly carried along.
“The road show was to create an impression that FCT-IRS exists and also tell the public our roles and services we provide, and to also enlighten the public on their responsibilities to the country and FCT in particular.
“We have realised that in the past years a lot of people have asked if there is FCT-IRS. So it is our intention to now make every January our tax enlightenment drive.
“We want to let residents in Abuja know that they have the responsibility to pay their taxes and also file their tax returns. They should know that March 31st is the deadline for filing tax returns, and there is a penalty for defaulting.
“One way of achieving our tax target of over N200 billion is by the awareness we are creating today, so that more people will file their taxes and that will affect our bottom line.
“We are also taking our campaign to all the area councils and not just the city centre. The FCT-IRS is guided by personal income tax and the FCT tax Act,” he added.
Abdullahi further said that the deadline for filing of annual tax return for organisations, employers or MDAs is January 31, 2022, while that of individuals ends on March 31, 2022.