The Market Traders Association of Nigeria (MATAN), says the Federal Government’s Direct Tax Direct Initiative (VDI) will end multiple taxation and promote the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Hajiya Aisha Nakorji, the Chairperson of the association in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, who stated this recently, added that the initiative would also empower rural traders and artisans.
Nakorji said the initiative was one of the best government initiatives to the people, particularly traders. She explained that the VDI was introduced by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to collect and remit VAT from MATAN members, especially those in the informal sector using a unified systems technology. According to her, the association would collaborate with FIRS in the execution of the initiative due to its widespread network in all the nooks and cronies of the country.
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“Under the collaboration, MATAN will promote awareness on VAT collection and remittance in the marketplace and informal sector. “The association will also simplify VAT payment and remittance for the marketplace and informal sector using a purpose-built digital platform. “The digital platform enumerates the association members and provides a digital identification that tracks their turnover so that VAT accrued is collected and remitted to the FIRS. “The initiative will remove all bottlenecks hampering businesses, particularly multiple taxation as one of our major challenges in the informal sector is not knowing who we are paying taxes to,” she said.
The Nigerian Government, through the Federal Inland Revenue Service, announced in July the VAT Direct Initiative, a scheme aimed at enabling the government to collect value-added taxes from the informal sector and reduce multiple taxations in the informal economy. According to the FIRS, the scheme will help tackle multiple taxations in the marketplace through partnerships with security agencies to curb the activities of touts and self-imposed tax collectors.
The FIRS disclosed this in a statement, stating that it would partner with the Market Traders Association of Nigeria to collect and remit VAT from its members, particularly those in the informal sector using a unified systems technology. The statement partly read, “A collaboration between FIRS and MATAN where MATAN promotes awareness on VAT collection and remittance in the marketplace and informal sector, while also simplifying VAT payment and remittance for the marketplace and informal sector using a purpose-built digital platform.”
