The ICTD launched the Nigerian Tax Research Network (NTRN) at a three-day event on the theme: “Revenue Beyond Oil Reliance.”
Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the NTRN’s purpose is to support the generation and exchange of tax knowledge in Nigeria. It is concerned with all topics related to taxation, ranging from tax policy to tax administration, and stakeholders include tax practitioners and researchers, as well as donors and civil society organisations working on tax issues in Nigeria.
The keynote address was delivered by the Chair of the NTRN, former FIRS Chairman Mrs Ifueko Omoigui Okauru. She spoke about the about the challenges of raising tax revenue in Nigeria and the crucial role of research. She shared her conviction that “research is at the heart of development”, and that “We should not focus on revenue as an end goal but as a means to an end in achieving the social contract role of government to the citizenry. She also said to those gathered that “We shouid not assume that we can design policy around models developed elsewhere and apply them to Nigeria’s complex and dynamic realities without first doing our own research into our own problems, which suggest their own solutions. If we do this”, she concluded, “we may find that Nigeria has much to teach the world!”
See more pictures of the launch event here.
Programme
Day 1
Welcome and introduction from International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) CEO Professor Mick Moore
Welcome from Centre for Public Policy Alternatives, NTRN Secretariat
Goodwill Message from Mr A.B. Okauru, Director General, Nigeria Governors’ Forum
Keynote 1: On revenue challenges, revenue optimisation and the role of research
NTRN Chair Mrs. Ifueko M. Omoigui Okauru, MFR
Intention of the conference and network, Dr Olly Owen, NTRN Research Director
Session 1: On overviews and theoretical approaches
Chair and discussant: Professor Abiola Sanni
Paper 1: Alexander Ezenagu, McGill University/ Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti – Re-thinking the Theories of Taxation in an Interconnected World
Paper 2: Olanrewaju Ajogbasile, Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat and Mark Abani, MSCA Projects – Practical and Effective Reforms to Improving Tax Administration in Nigeria: appraising recent reforms across seven States
Session 2: National and sub-National taxation in Nigeria
Chair and discussant: Olly Owen, Oxford University Dept. of International Development.
Paper 1: Austin Ndiokwelu and Chidiebere Ibe, PERL/ARC – Public Financial Management Support: Highlights on Taxation and IGR Tools and Resources
Paper 2: Jirinwayo Jude Odinkonigbo, University of Nigeria – Does a Local Government in Nigeria have the Power to Tax?
Paper 3: Cheta Nwanze, SBM Intelligence – Tax awareness in Nigeria – a six-state study
Day 2
Keynote 2: Dr Femi Frederick Akinfala, Deputy Director for Research and Development, Tax Policy Department FIRS – Future directions in research strategies for FIRS
Session 3: On new tax challenges in the Nigerian environment
Chair and discussant: Mustapha Ndajiwo, FIRS
Paper 1: Nonso Obikili, Stellenbosch University – Tax Appeals and Social Intermediaries in Lagos
Paper 2: Stephen Odeogbola – Environmental Taxation in Nigeria
Paper 3: Abdussalam Mikail – The Need for the Regulation of Geographical Indication in Nigeria
Paper 4: Kazeem Kayode Lawal – Assessment of the Impact of Corporation Tax on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nigeria
Paper 5: Usman Isyaku Mohammed, FIRS (Kano) – Impact of Tax Audit on Revenue Generation in Nigeria
Session 4: New resources, new policies, new responses
Chair and discussant: Professor Mick Moore, ICTD
Paper 1: Omodele Ibrahim, LRC Limited – Property Tax: An Effective Economic Development Tool
Paper 2: Faoziah Gamu, UNILAG – Analysis of Horizontal Equity in property taxation in Lagos State. Focus on the Land Use Charge
Paper 3: Faosiyat Oyeyemi Olajide-Adedamola, FIRS – Augmenting tax revenue in Nigeria: an assessment of financial risk management in three agro-ecological zones in Nigeria
Paper 4: Beecroft Ibukun, Covenant University – Catching up with High-growth Potentials? Understanding Firm-level Perception of the Tax Administration and Productivity in Nigeria
Session 5: The E-economy and revenue in Nigeria
Chair and discussant: Alex Ezenagu, McGill University/ICTD
Paper 1: Dr Abiodun Philip Folarin, UNILAG – Taxation of E-Commerce and Developing Countries: A Case of New Wine in an Old Skin
Paper 2: Mustapha Ndajiwo, FIRS Research and Development Department/UNISA – E-commerce Taxation: A Framework to Broaden the Tax Base in Nigeria
Paper 4: Daniel Godson Olika, UNILAG – Towards Taxation of Domain Name Systems in Nigeria
Paper 5: Moshood Ibrahim Olawuyi, Tax Club OAU Ile-Ife – Redefining the Fixed Base Concept under Nigerian Law to keep pace with the 21st century Nigerian Economy: Facebook and Uber as Points of Reference
Closing Roundtable: Linking Research to Revenue Policy in Nigeria: Pathways Forward
Day 3: Research development workshop
Session 1: Participants’ presentations on their research in progress
Session 2: Quantitative research session, led by ICTD CEO Professor Mick Moore
Session 3: Qualitative research session, led by NTRN Research Coordinator Dr Olly Owen
Session 4: Writing for policy audiences, led by ICTD Research Uptake Manager Rhiannon McCluskey