Obare Musa, a tax-compliant expert from Goldstone Attorneys, has urged on non- governmental organisation to ensure they pay their taxes to the authorities.

Musa made this known at the two-day training organised by Global Rights for representatives of selected NGOs held in Osogbo, Osun State, said many non-profit groups often feel they don’t have the obligation to pay taxes.

He emphasized that NGOs must file yearly returns and pay taxes when they engage in businesses in compliance with the existing laws, adding that NGOs should take the issue of being a tax agent seriously since the laws mandate the deduction of tax from the salaries of their employees.

Asked if NGOs in the country were tax compliant, Musa said, “From my experience so far and this training, we see that a lot of NGOs are not tax compliant because they don’t know what they ought to be doing.

“So, lack of awareness hinders their compliance, but hopefully, with this training, we can bring these ones on board to boost compliance.”

Also speaking, Edosa Oviawe, the Programme Manager of Global Rights, stressed that many non-profit organisations were losing credibility due to non-compliance with existing regulations.

Oviawe stated that the group was working towards providing training for about 370 NGOs over three years, maintaining that the initiative was being supported by the European Union delegation to ECOWAS and Nigeria.