FIRS Generates ₦4.9trn, Unveils Call Centre To Address Taxpayers’ Complaints

The Federal Inland Revenue Service said it generated the
sum of N4.9trn between January and November from
taxes for the Federation.
Out of the N4.9trn collected since the beginning of the
year, 77 per cent representing N3.77trn was from non-oil
sources, while oil revenue is 23 per cent or N1.23trn
It also unveiled its contact centre for taxpayers to access
services of the agency by speaking with a call centre
agent in various Nigerian languages to resolve identified
challenges.
The Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mr. Muhammad Nami,
said this on Monday in Abuja at a National Symposium on
“Taxation and Challenges of External Shocks: Lessons and
Policy Options for Nigeria.”
The event was organised by the FIRS in conjunction with
the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
Nami said the Service will henceforth go through the
Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to
ensure that all government revenue is included in the
accounting for taxes generated.
The FIRS system, he stated, will now simultaneously
indicate the amounts invested by taxpayers in road
infrastructure which is consistent with executive order
007.
The FIRS boss said, “For the country to achieve
meaningful and sustainable growth in tax revenue, and
minimize our dependence on oil revenue, there is the need
for continuous reform of our operations and processes, of
our human capital development, the adoption of
technology, and the tax laws.
“These key areas have remained paramount to the current
Board and Management of the Service. And the
achievements we have recorded in improving and
sustaining the revenue growth since 2020 to date
irrespective of the challenges posed by the Covid-19 can
be attributed to these reform initiatives”.
He said the system would also show the tax waivers
granted pioneer companies, import and excise duties
waived through the operations of the Nigeria Customs and
all other revenues generated by Ministries Departments
and Agencies (MDAs) on behalf of the Federal, State and
Local governments in Nigeria.
According to him, the measures, when implemented, will
align Nigeria with global best practices in reporting public
finance and guarantee a more transparent and more
accurate picture of the country’s Tax-to-Gross Domestic
Product ratio.
The FIRS Boss said the move would also help ensure that
all government revenue is included in the fiscal accounts
and annual statistics of the FIRS.
Earlier in his remarks, a David Adejoh, who represented
the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss
Mustapha, said that the time has come for Nigeria to
strongly harness all non-oil revenue sources, especially
now that the rampaging COVID-19 crisis has crashed the
demand for petroleum products.
“We need to seek other sources of revenue besides oil to
avoid a looming fiscal crisis that can decapitate the
economy.
“Tax Pro Max has really helped in revenue generation, but
our tax to GDP ratio is still low at six per cent; lower than
some African countries and efforts should be made to
improve it”, he added.
In her keynote address on Taxation and the Challenges of
External Shocks: Lessons and Policy Options for Nigeria, a
former Executive Chairman, FIRS, Mrs Ifueko Omogui
Okauru urged the FIRS to allow companies to carry out a
self-audit and remit the taxes they feel is appropriate,
while the agency works out ways to ascertain whether the
money was inadequate or not. He said this was better
than not collecting any revenue whenever there is a tax
dispute with evaders.
She said, “We need to deepen taxation in primary,
secondary and tertiary institutions. It makes it easier for
your work in advocacy and all that. We can’t grow in
isolation.”