Nigeria to sort out multiple taxations: official

LAGOS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government would soon sort out problems of multiple taxations in states, a top official with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said Friday.

Babatunde Fowler, the Executive Chairman of FIRS, announced the plan at a round-table discussion on women and the informal sector in Abuja, the country's capital city.

He told his audience that the FIRS has started harmonizing taxes in Nigeria as part of moves to reduce cases of multiple taxations.

He said this would give Nigerians clear direction of what tax to pay, alleging that many states hide under FIRS to tax citizens.

"Some of the taxes Nigerians complain of as being imposed on them, especially on the market women, are done by states, not FIRS," he added.

"The Joint Tax Board as a body is working together with the FIRS to harmonize tax collection from small businesses all over Nigeria," he said.

Fowler expressed optimism that the government in a very short time would come up with policies on harmonized taxation.

The tax boss added that the government understood what the people, especially those in the informal sector, were going through.

He said the National Tax Standard Board was also doing a lot toward harmonization of taxes. Enditem