The Promise of Taxation

The Promise of Taxation

By  M.T. Abdulrazaq

We were young men and women attracted by the promise of taxation and the promise of our country. A little over thirty years ago we walked the streets of London attending tax law classes in almost all the colleges and schools of the University of London. We attended the Business Tax classes at the London School of Economics and at Queen Mary College, the Personal Tax Class taught by Michael Flesch QC at the University College and by Professor A.R. Mellows LL.D at Kings College at the Strand.

We also attended the Estate Tax Planning classes at both the University College and at the library of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at Russell Square. I speak about we that were postgraduate tax law (LL.M) students of the University of London in the 1981/82 session.

Sometimes I am asked, what attracted you to taxation? In my response, I speak about the promise of taxation, I speak about the promise of our country, I speak about how we believed that we would use our tax knowledge for the benefit of our country. How we would change our tax system and raise the level of tax jurisprudence close to that of the United Kingdom. Thirty three years on, regrettably, we are still consumed with installing the basic fundamentals of taxation in our country .

Our tax law studies were no easy task. In one of the lectures at Kings College, the lecturer had asked us how we thought studying British taxation, which he said was a hundred years ahead of that of Nigeria, could ever be of immediate benefit to us. He tried to discourage us by starting the course with the formula for the computation of capital gains tax. He knew that figures were definitely not the forte of law students but he underrated the Nigerian spirit in us. As we walked home that day in November 1981, Abimbola Olowofoyeku and myself, over the Waterloo Bridge towards the YMCA hostel where he stayed, we resolved that unless we were pointedly asked to leave the class we would offer the course till the very end. That was the ringing tone my head as I made my way to the LSE Rosebery Avenue Hall of Residence where I stayed. Thirty three years on, how have we fared? Have we met and kept the promise of taxation? In the words of the alumnus magazine of the London School of Economics, one may ask, where are they now? Where are those young men who walked the streets of London in pursuit of tax knowledge?

We are four that are immediately remembered - Abimbola Olowofoyeku who is a Professor of Law at Brunel University in the United Kingdom, Taiwo Osipitan who is a Professor of Law at the University of Lagos and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ighodalo Imadegbelo is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a former Lecturer at the University of Benin and myself.

How about our country’s tax promise? Truly, fair, reasonable and respectable progress has been made but we need the introduction of a charter, a document that would set down a minimum standard of behaviour that could be expected from tax officers and focusing on what taxpayers may expect from tax authorities such as (1) Respect (2) Support for taxpayers to get things right (3) Treat taxpayers as honest until the contrary is proven (4) Treat tax payers even-handedly (5) Be professional and act with integrity (6) Tackle those who deliberately break the rules (7) Protect information and respect privacy (8) Accept tax practitioner representation with mutual respect and (9) Keep the cost of dealing with the tax authorities as low as possible. Tax payers should have the obligations to be (1) Honest (2) Respect tax officials (3) Take care to get things right.

As we the young men and women of thirty three years ago dangerously inch towards the age of 60 and some of us grandparents we need to urgently help our country achieve its tax promise and improve on its tax efforts. The issue really is whether our country is ready for our help?

How are we to achieve the promise of taxation? Perhaps we need to have a Sovereign Tax Conference, a kind of economic conference to determine how, who, when and what should be the subject of taxation. We need to agree on the type of tax dispute resolution mechanism we want.  We need to let all know that our harmonious and buoyant countrymen are not inherently dishonest or incurable tax evaders. The problem is in the tax system and in the cold reality that in the fulfillment of our social and civil contract many of our fellow countrymen and women have been less than committed to the future and well being of our country.

 

 

Professor M.T. Abdulrazaq is Professor of Taxation, Faculty of Law, Lagos State University and former Registrar/Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.