Why tax remittance by citizens should be mandatory —Abegunde

Kayode Abegunde is a U.S-based tax expert, insurance agent, auditor among others. He contested for Delaware State Insurance Commissioner under Democratic Party primaries prior to the U.S general elections. In this Interview with NURUDEEN ALIMI, he speaks on reasons citizens must pay tax among other issues.

As a US based tax expert, how important is the citizens’ tax remittance to the US economy compared to the Nigeria system. Would you say irregular payment  of tax by Nigerians is responsible for the backward trend in the country?

Tax remittance should not be debated, it should be mandatory, and everyone should remit as stipulated in each country, state, and local tax laws and codes. Anyone that evades tax remittance should be severely penalised and criminally charged. Tax is remittance is used to develop your community, and if you’re not remitting while others are remitting, it means you are stealing from others and that’s criminal. In a developed country, if the government realised you have overpaid during your tax returns; you will be paid back and refunded which is standard in a developed country. Now, in Nigeria, everything is turned upside down. If the citizens remit their tax payments, it’s expected of their government to use it for the purpose at which it was remitted but on the contrary, even if the citizens complied, the people in government are not making use of the money but embezzling it, tell me how you want the people to continue to commit to it. In the US, we see good roads, good infrastructure, electricity, etc simply because we have accountability. In Nigeria, there is no accountability, everyone is accountable to his or her pocket. Certainly, the effect is the backwardness in the Nigerian system. And the question is, can I blame those that are not remitting? Partially but most of the blame go to the government that does not know what the remittances should be used for.

What does entrepreneurship mean to you? Is it really a key factor to a more developed society?

Entrepreneurship is all about creativity and the ability to use innovative ideas to make a difference in your community by addressing a need or creating a socially conscious business.

Entrepreneurship is extremely relevant for several reasons for promoting social change to driving innovation. Entrepreneurs are frequently thought of as national assets to be cultivated, motivated, and remunerated to the greatest possible extent. For instance, in a developed country during this pandemic, all entrepreneurs are compensated, they consistently receive grants and loans from the government, Federal, State, and Local. It helps entrepreneurs keep afloat. That’s why we have the Small Business Administration (SBA), Chamber of Commerce, others that the government leverage to transfer funds to the entrepreneurs and business owners. Entrepreneurship can be embraced anywhere be it developed or underdeveloped countries, that’s the only way the country can grow, and it will control brain-drain. It’s a key to both developed and developing countries. Entrepreneurs can change the way we live and work. If successful, their innovations can improve standards of living and in addition to creating wealth with entrepreneurial ventures, they also create jobs and contribute to a growing economy.

Entrepreneurship is important as it could improve standards of living and create wealth, not only for the entrepreneurs but also for related businesses.

Entrepreneurs also help drive change with innovation, where new and improved products enable new markets to be developed.

Economy wise, higher earnings thanks to entrepreneurship can help boost national income and tax revenue.

Entrepreneurs contribute in other ways as well, such as investing in community projects and supporting local charities. Too much entrepreneurship (i.e, high self-employment) can be detrimental to economic development.

Looking at the insurance business in Nigeria, would you say the sector is properly managed here compared with the system in the US?

I think it is not about the management, it is more about the knowledge that the community has. The government needs to talk and educate more on the importance of insurance. It could be auto, healthcare, business, commercial, life or all other types of insurances. In fact, the community benefits more if they truly understand it. My fear is during the claim, I hope the insurance companies will listen to the insured and indemnify them; that’s not the time to tell a story when they have faithfully been paying their premiums, meeting insured claims should not be a problem at all. That’s why they took a risk by putting money in for unforeseen circumstances. I will suggest that Insurance laws and regulations in Nigeria should be reviewed and made robust that people will be able to buy into it. Here in the US, I don’t think you need anyone to cajole you into it, it’s normal, required and it comes with several benefits when you insure your cars, homes, businesses, health, and life because it’s an eye saw. Our Federal, States and local laws spell it out in their respective laws so Insurance companies and clients must adhere to it strictly.

Talking as a business administrator, what can you say makes someone a successful businessman or woman?

You are successful when you can employ people and feed several families, follow all required ethical standards, policies, procedures, and laws. You can also say you are successful when you can fail and rise. Leadership is much more than being a boss, when you are courageous, courage means a leader is not afraid to take risks. We should always maintain the entrepreneurial spirit and be able to see opportunities to take the business to the next level and beyond. Competition is also an integral part of being successful in business, if not all, businesses, and a good businessperson wants to win. Business people need to stay at the forefront of their industry and do better than their competing businesses.

What is your overall assessment of the Nigerian economy?

My overall assessment of the Nigerian economy tells me we have a long to go because not until our government can be honest and discourage corruption and think more about people, then I really do not see how the Nigerian economy can be great. How can we reduce corruption because I know we cannot end it? The Government that is supposed to regulate the economy are the number problem with corruption so how do you want your followers to do otherwise, it’s tough. Just as you see in every sector in Nigeria full of corruption, nothing is on merit anymore maybe two per cent. Nigeria is too big for northerners to manage because of their lack of education and too tricky for Westerners because I too know, and difficult for Easterners due to their alternative products. So where do we go from here?

Do you have any intention to set up a business in Nigeria?

I have a business registered with CAC, we are focusing on accounting, auditing, taxation and financial consultancy.

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