The lack of focus on issues of taxation by financial reporters in the country, has been lamented by the Federal Inland Revenue Servic(FIRS).
The agency stated this at the commencement of a two-day training in Abuja for journalists on tax reporting, saying that it aimed at equipping them with relevant skills on accurate reporting of tax matters.
The training, which was organised in conjunction with Journalism.com, a journalism training firm in Abuja, was held for members of the Senate Press Corps.
Wahab Gbadamosi, the Head of Communications and Servicom Department, FIRS, while welcoming participants to the event, stressed the importance of the training to the Service, saying it was important just as the legislature is important to the success of tax administration.
“At FIRS, we believe journalists are teachers and that is why product from journalists are day diet of the CEOs,” the official said, recalling that the last of such training was in 2005.
While pledging the frequency of the training going forward, Mr. Gbadamosi said: “Our business at FIRS may not be about profit and loss but realise funds needed for national development. So we view the media as partner through which this ideal would be realized.
“We believe that the training will chart a course for mutually beneficial interests. We are here to understand ourselves better,” he added.
On recent feats achieved by the Service, Mr. Gbadamosi said that due to some innovations evolved by the Service, the country was able to achieve record breaking receipts of N3.3 trillion in 2016 and moved up to N4.0 trillion in 2017.
He expressed happiness with the level of interaction, saying that “perception is everything”, and that there was the need for understanding between the Service and the media.
Facilitator of the training, Anselm Okolo, said that the training was an important tool for journalists to overcome new challenges and make sense of emerging trends.
