Tax Intermediaries Management: A Review of Three Jurisdictions

Abstract

The recent spate of media leaks has brought tax intermediaries and their role in tax avoidance (and evasion) schemes employed by taxpayers around the world to the forefront of collective consciousness. Hence the prevalent opinion is that there is no ‘tax dodge’ without an intermediary. This makes them a force to be reckoned with in the global tax sphere. It is against this background that this article appraises the role of tax intermediaries from a theoretical and factual perspective as well as providing the framework for their regulation and management in Nigeria, and comparatively assess the Nigerian situation against that of Kenya and South Africa. The article concludes that the situation in Nigeria is not at par with that in comparator jurisdictions. To improve the situation, it recommends that the registration and licensing of tax intermediaries (favoured by Kenya and South Africa) and the institutionalisation of a reporting regime (favoured by South Africa and recommended by the OECD/G20 in its BEPS Action 12 report) be made part of the framework for the management of tax intermediary practice in Nigeria via legislation.