SMC launches POS e-Tax solution

Signals Mega Concept (SMC) Limited, an information and communication (ICT) marketing company, has introduced Point-of-Sales electronic tax (POS e-TAX) into the market, reports CHARLES OKOH.

Speaking to ITRealms Online, the Managing Director, SMC, Mr. Benjamin Onigbinde, said POS e-Tax is an electronic tax payment solution that runs on Point of Sales Terminals with designated tax card.

“The proportion of the population that pays tax is very small; most of these are through PAYEE system where tax is deducted directly from income. The logistics of this tax collection has not made it easy for would-be tax payers to pay their taxes,” he said.

He highlighted some of the challenges to include; handling at payment points, security, accountability, and long queues at payment point.

According to him for the government’s revenue drive to achieve a maximum impact, a system that will make the tax payment easy and convenient needs to be put in place.

Onigbinde also said the scope of the solution covers deployment of statewide online Point of Sales (POS) Terminals, production of a special designed tax card. This, he explained, is a solution that runs online sophisticated network system linking tax offices, and other revenue collection agencies to the participating banks.

“POS e-TAX will not only solve the problem of tax collection but will create a database of information that will be valuable to the government,” he said

Onigbinde listed the benefit to include; improve revenue collection, remove cash leakage because there will be no cash payment, improve service delivery and standard, better reach to tax payers and easy to dispense, administrative convenience (easier reconciliation) and more information to assist decision making.

The solution, he stressed, would assist the government in developing and implementing tax administration system that would increase its revenue drive and reduce cost of administration.

“First, this involves capturing of data on population of eligible taxpayers, and the issuing of ‘Tax Card’ to all tax payers that will make database identification of the cardholders foolproof. It is expected that this solution if properly implemented will lead to increase in government revenue in billions of naira and also reduce the cost of tax administration,” he said.

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