DO YOU KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS AS A TAXPAYER?

As a taxpayer, you have rights and obligations towards payment of your taxes.

What are these rights and obligations?

Rights in the law mean the freedom, claims, and privileges that are available or that must be enjoyed by a taxpayer in the course of paying his or her taxes. These rights are to be exercised both under the tax laws.

While obligations are moral or legal requirements, a debt or a commitment to pay a certain amount of money or to carry out a particular duty.

Let’s jump into the discussion by looking ….

 The rights of taxpayers

• Taxpayers are to be informed, assisted and heard:-

  The Taxpayers are entitled to have up-to-date information on the operations of the tax system and how their tax is assessed. This means you can enter into any of the tax offices and ask for information that will assist you in paying your tax. (From time to time there are publications by the Revenue Service that will assist you in paying the right amount of Tax.

• Right to Certainty:-

  Taxpayers should know what their tax should be, not to pay more than the amount due. Taxpayers should pay taxes based on their income. They should also know the amount they are going to pay and the rate of assessment. There should be information on free pay allowances and exemptions, reliefs and deductions for which they are eligible as well as a refund which may be due to them.

• Confidentiality and Secrecy:- 

  Information made available to the tax administration on the affairs of the taxpayers is confidential and will only be used for the purpose specified in tax legislation. No tax official should give your information out to any unauthorized user.

• Right to Privacy:-

  It is expected the tax authorities will not reasonably bother taxpayers when the tax assessed is settled and paid correctly and on time.

• Right of Appeal or Objection:-

  Taxpayers have the right to appeal or object to an assessment when they don’t agree with the decision of the tax authorities. However, this right must be exercised within the period stipulated by law

• Right of Representation:-

  Taxpayers have the right to appoint their representation or agents. This means you can deal with tax authorities/officials yourself or appoint representatives.

• Right to Courtesy:-

  There is a saying that taxpayers are king and should be treated as such. The tax officials are to talk to you with courtesy and there should not be any form of harassment. An extension of this right, the taxpayer can demand proper identification from any person claiming to be an official of any tax authorities.

• Right of refund:-

  The taxpayer has the right to be granted a refund on excess tax paid with the option of using it to offset future tax.

• Right to get Tax payment receipts and eventually Tax Clearance certificates when all taxes have been paid.

Let’s check out the obligations……

OBLIGATIONS OF TAXPAYERS

The obligation of the Taxpayers will be discussed for this presentation as there cannot be any right if the obligation is not properly carried out.

• Registration with tax authority:-

  Taxpayers must register with relevant tax authorities and obtain a Tax Identification Number or Payer Identity as the case may be.

• Keep proper records:-

  Where the taxpayer is a business concern, proper records of business must be kept. And where the entity is not exempt from value-added tax, it must ensure that the monthly sales are in agreement with the monthly cash sales and agree with the monthly VAT returns.

• Filling of Returns:-

  Taxpayers are required to submit information about their income by filing returns within the due date. In the case of companies, file their company income tax returns while individuals by way of filing their annual personal income tax returns.

• Taxpayers are, to be Honest:-

  Taxpayers are expected to be honest; they are also to make full disclosure of their income from all sources to allow a proper assessment of the tax liability.

• Taxpayers are to be Cooperative:-

  To cooperate with the authorized officers of tax authorities while on official business and in the course of their dealings with them

• Payment of Taxes as at when due:-

  To pay taxes on time to avoid unnecessary tax burdens by way of interest and penalty. The taxpayers who are experiencing difficulty in complying with their obligations are encouraged to discuss their circumstances with the tax authorities concerned.

• Notification of Tax Authorities:-

  The taxpayer is obliged to notify the tax authorities of any change in a matter relating to their business. For example, change of address, change in the line of business, lull in business, and others.

• Response to tax Queries:-

  Responding to tax inquiries, and queries and attending tax interviews with a specific timeline is part of the obligations of taxpayers.

Let me reiterate this last point, simply because it’s so important:

“Responding to tax inquiries, queries and attending tax interview with a specific timeline is part of the obligations of taxpayer.”

What’s more, this is very important in that where you are disputing an assessment, if you do not respond within the specified time stated in the tax law, the tax authorities are given the power to regard it as the ‘final and conclusive’. Apart from the fact that you might not know the technicalities involved in all the above. This runs against you since you as the taxpayer might not know the specified time

Here’s what I suggest you do next:

For you as a taxpayer to enjoy these rights and not fail in your obligations, you need a tax consultant who can advise and represent you on tax issues with tax authorities

So, go ahead and get started right now by signing up for our service because as you know all tiers of government in Nigeria are beefing up their internally generated revenue and taxes are the focus now