CRIMINAL SANCTIONS UNDER THE NIGERIAN FEDERAL INLAND REVENUE SERVICE (ESTABLISHMENT) ACT.
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Date
2017-03
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Kwara State university, Malete and Hybrid Consult
Abstract
Introduction
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, (FIRSEA) 2007, provides for the establishment of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which is charged with the powers of assessment, collection and accounting for revenues accruable to the government of the Federation and for matters related. The objective of the FIRS is to control and administer the different taxes and laws specified in the First Schedule of the Act. The FIRSEA provision for different offenses and penalties, could be broadly categorized into three, namely, administrative, civil and criminal.
However, it is observed that the FIRS, which is vested with the power to employ its own legal offers who shall have power to prosecute any of the offenses under the FIRSEA, subject to the power of the Attorney-General of the Federation, seldom institute criminal proceedings against those who are involved in tax crimes. It is also observed that in Nigeria Revenue authorities rarely make use of criminal sanctions to tackle tax offenses, where as in developed countries such as the USA, Britain, Canada and Japan, non-compliance with tax laws are always viewed as a criminal offense and are treated as such.
This paper examined the different types of offenses and penalties under the FIRSEA to see whether tax offenders are being adequately prosecuted for criminal tax offenses. It also sets out to examine the offenses and penalties to see whether criminal proceedings are instituted against criminal tax offenders and to compare the Nigerian situation with what obtains in United States of America and Britain. The overall objective is to see whether there is a link between criminal sanctions and the non-compliance attitude to the majority of Nigerian taxpayers.
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Citation
“CHANGING PERSPECTIVES IN THE LAW AND PRACTICE OF TAXATION IN NIGERIA: ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF PROFESSOR M.T. ABDULRAZAQ” Chapter Nine 151-172