BrazilLeadway Assurance and PwC organise tax compliance seminar in Lagos
Lagos-based insurance services firm Leadway Assurance held a seminar to facilitate an increase in dialogue between tax authorities and members of the business environment, with the specific objective of improving compliance levels across Nigeria. The event was organised in collaboration with PwC.
Founded in 1970, Leadway Assurance is among the most established names in the Nigerian insurance community. The firm offers services in a number of domains, with a specific focus on life assurance, general insurance and financial services. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the firm is invested in the latest tax policy reforms being introduced in Nigeria.
The insurance sector is amongst those set to be most substantially affected by the reforms, which mean a number of firms active in the sector will be looking to revise their tax policy to comply with the new regulatory framework. In collaboration with Big Four accounting and advisory firm PwC, Leadway Assurance has now held an event to help inform insurance firms.
The seminar was also open to the general public, aimed at facilitating dialogue around the new reforms and the requirements going forth. The event was themed “Taxation Matters in Insurance Value,” and featured a list of accomplished panelists, including two Partners from PwC.
Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa, and is looking to ensure that gaps in the tax policy do not hinder growth. The government will be hoping to avoid a situation like that in Ghana, where tax collection levels have fallen short of their expected value by as much as $370 million.
The Ghana Revenue Authority had to enlist the services of management consultancy McKinsey & Company to solve its tax collection problem – a situation that the Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service is looking to avoid with the new policy. The country’s ratio of tax to GDP currently stands at 6%.
Commenting on the situation, Commercial Director at Leadway Assurance Gboyega Lesi said, “the central point of Leadway’s philosophy is commitment to the provision of integrated insurance and financial services to the Nigerian public and this seminar on Taxation Matters in the Insurance Value Chain is a mark of its commitment to leveraging on its unique capabilities, skills and network to present Insurance as a risk management tool to its clients.”
