Problem of Income Personal Tax Administration and Collection Machinery

Problem of Income Personal Tax Administration and Collection Machinery

The various methods of collecting tax they can be divided as follows.
(a)    Write of Attachment
(b)    personal Demand
(c)    Court proceedings
(d)    Agency
(e)    Writs of Attachment.
(a)WRITE OF ATTACHMENT

This is usually done by tax collector. They do this by ditaining the tax payer by his goods where the property is situated. The write as well be done by seizure of and sales of the moveable property of a tax defaulter. When the write is issued, the tax office is armed with authority to seize and sue, where appropriate the property of the defaulter in satisfaction of debt.
(b) PERSONAL DEMAND
This is the method used after the tax collector has published a notice under S 34(1) of the law loaring the public and stating the period during which the method will be as “tax drive”. The drive may be either at the taxpayers residence or any other place where he could be easily found. This method could be done perfectly when going along with the police, mostly very early in the morning or in the evening when the Victim could easily be found.
(c) AGENCY
These are those tax collection agents who go to those in rural area especially in the area specified to them to carry out functions like in the primary schools, market, village, chiefs place etc.
A lot of problems have been affecting personal income tax collection in Anambra State. Among them, poor collection system has become the major one. Unless the implementation and execution machinery are equally efficient, the entire system may crumble. The government of Anambra state in 1996, engaged the services of tax contractors known as tax consultants to boost states such as Enugu, River, Deter mention a few engaged the services as will but little do they know that the problems of downward trend to revenue collection are not mainly from the staff of board of internal revenue as the government though to be.
Three major factors that militated against effective tax collection in the state.
(a) Lack of educated staff
(b) Lack of logistics and infrastructure.
(c) Lack of motivation.
Some educators are the pivot in which other things linger. All things equals, educators upgrade the staff standard if such training has been given to them.
The infrastructural facilities also contribute heavily to poor collection. Anambra state are worst hit it this infrastructure.
As the duties of tax collectors are very dangerous because of lack of adequate knowledge in our societies, any have lost their lives in this exercise. In view of this, tax collectors should be encouraged through cash and kind in order to enable them execute this job.
I will say that two major problems confronting effective tax collection in Awka south and Anambra state in general are lack of logistics and infrastructure and lack of motivation and unless these issues are adequately addressed by the government the problem will continue to linger on.
Other problems are as follows:
(1)    Lack of communication facilities
(2)    Lack of means of mobility
(3)    Inadequate staffing of various tax offices and motor licensing offices.
(4)    Attitude of some public office holders.
(5)    Ignorance and high level of illiteracy in the society.
(6)    Tax evasion and tax avoidance.
Omroginwa (1982) State that whereby tax avoidance is operating in tax administration, it will lead to ineffective system, thereby suggested that aggressive means should be used.
Adebayo Adedesi (1970) State that unless tax administration has been administered without feer or favour by a staff with the authority and knowledge to do so that no tax law, no matter how sophisticated and progressive can be effective. He further said that the administration in income tax system is the major problem that faces income taxation, in Nigeria. More so, he remarked that the renormalization of income tax in Nigeria is a problem in tax administration and also gave advice that if taxation is the become important and growing source of revenue in Nigeria, then there should be need to break completely from tradition of direct taxation, reduce the number and scale of personal allowance and salaries, increase the tax and revolutionaries the administrative machinery.
Nick Keketor (1970) Stated that one of the problems that arises from tax assessment officer is knowing incomes of there with varying annual income, asserted that proper assessment of this class of income of tax payers were  made complicated by lack of book-keeping and due to this, large amount of revenue are lost yearly by under declaration of income.
Olorunleke (1985) further stressed his own view in the need for proper growing of tax officers due to technical nature involved in the progress of assessment and collection. More so, he stressed that the tax assessment and collection units are characterized by high percentage of illiterate councilors and tax agents among other who multiply issues for the few illiterate officers.
Nwachukwu (1985) stressed that professionals and other business man and women hardly pay tax commensurate with their income. They usually dodg tax irrespective of their level of awareness of the necessity as a very formidable instrument for rapid development but instead they willingly left this practical philosophy of civil responsibility.
Ewujowa (1989) state that people are not interested in paying tax because of negative approach to tax collection and use of taxes towards a better social and economic goals.
Odinwa (1984) stated that the former chief of staff supreme Headquarters major General Tunde Idiagbon (Rtd) have said that the Federal Government is worried over the continuous means tax evasion which emanates mostly from the business concerns and wealthy Nigerian. The unpatriotic attitude remarked by the chief of staff is wide spread and government has lost millions of naira in both personal and company’s tax evasion. Furthermore, he stated that companies deliberately falsify their records in the completion of their tax forms to mislead the government.
Ajao (1985) quoted that the former chief of staff has said that the government has lost a big C chunks of the revenue that could have incurred to them because they operate inefficient system of tax administration.
Professor Osisioma B.C. (`1990) stated that until business man and self employed persons pay their taxes as and when due, government will not realize the full potentials from this revenue source. Osisioma father mentioned that filling false claims by tax payers in their returns contributes in no small measure to the loss of the revenue to the government.
Ewujowo (1989) pointed out the non rewarding of rural tax payers as a serious problem. Quoted one rural tax payer as having said.
“We can develop our town villages through self efforts without asking the government for assistance but due to the fact that we pay taxes with the belief that our needs will be provided by the government, hence our inability to think good of over selves towards better economic and social abilities”.
David (1970) expressed the relationship between the government expenditure and the consequent need for taxation. He said that it is probably most desirable to make clear in people’s mind the association between the tax they pay and benefit they receive from government expenditure. He remarked that more apparent this is, the greater the likelihood the people will be willing both to apy taxes thereby keeping down the cost of collection and perhaps more importantly to work harder in order earn the money to pay. This shows that people do not pay tax voluntarily until the impact of its benefits are either anticipated or felt.
Ijebi Chidi (1984) sees it as ironical, the tax authorities pretense of ignorance of the sources of taxable income among self employed persons and he blamed the tax authorities for the situation.
Okeke (1987) Listed three cadres of skill required for effective and functional tax management in Nigeria as:
(1)     Manipulative skills:
This includes honest, dedicated and skilled clerks in the tax offices.
(2)    Operating Skill.
This requires enterprising, energetic, young and enduring tax experts like chattered accountants specializing in tax assessment, collection and management.
(3)     Administrative skills:
This will include other officials who rose from rank and file in the tax authorities and other area. These should come mostly from such areas like Economics. Business Administration and management, public finance and public administration.
Odorunlode (1985) quoted that one time military governor of Anambra state, Navy Capt. A.A. madueke as having said that promulgation of the decree making the administration and collection of personal income taxes uniform throughout the country would be the beginning of the Journey towards effective tax administration in this country.
In Anambra state, the committee reported the following facts among other as factors militating against the maximum collection of revenue in the state they are:
(1)     Lack of staff and input such as stationery, vehicles and effective legislative cover the tax officials as earlier highlight and cited Mr. Njoku’s supreme sacrifice in Mkpume died in cold blood without any compensation given to the family.
(2)     Lack of appropriate incentives to tax officials. The tax officials are poorly paid if compared with their counterparts in other government establishment irrespective of the riskness of their job. If much revenue is to be expected, the tax officials should be encouraged through increase in their salaries and entitlements in order to keep abreast with the job.
(3)    Inadequate public enlightenment to tax officials.
(4)    Inability on the part of these entrusted with the job to perform effectively.
(5)    Lack of commitment to the job
(6)    Desires for self enrichment.
(7)    Lack of adequate information for tax payers sources of income.
(8)    Take address given by the tax payers thereby making it very difficult for the tax authority to locate the tax payer.
(9)    Some tax payers are not prepared to pay their taxes at will unless they are caused to do so which gives rise to their coming.
(10)    Lack of good supervision in the management system.
(11)    Lack of relevant information
(12)    Poor statistics of taxable adults.
(13)    Economic factors, ignorance, massive incorporation of businesses and deliberate intention to cheat.
(14)    Loss of revenue accountable from pools agents, licensing fees due to inability to ascertain the member or types of companies transacted by a pools agents.
(15)    Many items of equipment in the survey division need re-activation and apparently, the government does not appear to show any interest in this direction.
(16)    Official accommodation for the Board of internal revenue staff both local level and headquaters has been most inadequate.
(17)    Establishment / Organization empowered to collect revenue for the state were neither adequately equipped nor properly funded.
(18)    Some tax payers feel that money they pay for tax is no longer used for what tax is meant for, such as roads, electricity, water supply etc and as a result, they feel very non-challant and reluctant in paying higher taxes or even not paying at all.
(19)    Lastly, some tax payers are hostile to tax officials.
The Board of internal Revenue, embarked on how the above listed problems should he solved. They are as follows.
(1)    Using the media to educate people about the importance of conformity to the tax requirement and highlighting the consequences of tax evasion to them. This is so because if the individuals in the state know the importance of taxation, they will definitely pay their taxes.
(2)    Embarking on tax drive operatives where persons who dodge tax or who migrate to other states and come briefly to Anambra state are caught and made to pay the adequate tax.
(3)    Review the laws that vested power of assessment on the group of Assessment Authoiryt
(4)    Enforcement of law in adequate supply information.
(5)    Emphasis of seminars, training and re-training of staff
(6)    Capability to be only criterion for selecting people for the post of executive secretary, tax collectors and motor licensing Authorities.
(7)    Board of Internal Revenue to examine its man-power needs, and make representations to the commissioner for finance and Economic planning.
(8)    Release of funds for the construction / renovation of Board of internal revenue.
(9)    Purchase of office equipment in the Board of Internal Revenue.
(10)    Enforcement of the law on PAYE arrears by organization of the state and local government and where still in default, recovery to be made by subvention.
(11)    Installment payment of PAYE arreas by organization of the state and local government and still in default, recovery to be made by subvention.
(12)    Proper identification of streets, residential and official buildings of newly designated townships.
(13)    Enforcement of the law or record/account keeping
(14)    Executive council directive for the posting of tax officials to ministries / departments that make use of tax clearance certificate.
(15)    Advice and assistance of traditional rulers.
(16)    Public enlightenment and education on the benefits of taxes.
(17)    Establishment of specialized Assessment / Back duty Division in the Board of Internal Revenue as an anti tax avoidance.
(18)    More positive involvement of traditional rulers
(19)    Specialized / Back duty Division as reference centre for bringing to book those who did payment of taxes.
(20)    Inspection of tax deduction centres and activities of sales tax officials by the Revenue inspection officers.
(21)    Provision and release of funds to Board of internal revenue before the end of the fiscal year to purchase items of stationery fir the following year.
(22)    Joint read checks by officials of the board of internal revenue and the police to fish out the tax defaulters.
(23)    Development of more industrial layouts.
(24)    Equipment reactivation and maintenance.
(25)    Establishment of mobile courts to accelerate the trails of the offenders without going through normal court procedures which delays action.
(26)    Provision of new layout with necessary infrastructure.
(27)    Inspectorate division to check renewal of pools agent licenses.

—-This article is not complete———–This article is not complete————

This article was extracted from a Project Research Work/Material Topic “PROBLEMS OF PERSONAL INCOME TAX COLLECTION IN ANAMBRA STATE”

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