The reforms put in place by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to block tax leakages as well as expand collection is gradually paying off as the agency recorded over 17 per cent increase in taxes last year.
According to the details released by the FIRS Chairman, Mr. Babatunde Fowler, the collection moved from N3.3 Trillion in 2016 to N4.03 trillion in 2017, repre- senting about 17.5 per cent.
The FIRS’ collection of N4.03 trillion was N720 billion more than the 2016 total collection figure of N3.305 trillion.
This is coming just as the Federal Government yesterday disclosed that it had established an Inter- Ministerial Committee on harmonisation of data collection and evaluation for the country.
Fowler recalled that actual revenue collection for 2015 stood at N3.7 trillion, with N2.4 trillion coming from non-oil receipts. Out of the sum of N3.3 trillion collected in 2016, he added, N2.14 trillion came from non-oil receipts.
The FIRS chairman, who disclosed this in Lagos during a visit of members of the Senate and House of Representatives’ Finance Committees to the palace of the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, said taxation remained the most sustainable of government revenue sources.
The visit was part of the agency’s Management and Stakeholders’ retreat in Lagos with theme, “Optimizing Tax Administration with Parliamentary Synergy.”
Fowler said the appreciable jump in taxes collected in 2017 was an indication that Nigeria could depend less on Oil Revenue, which has dipped since 2014, following a slump in oil prices on the international market.
According to him, there has been sustained decline in global price of oil in second half of 2014, making the revenue generated from it to stand at N2.45 trillion. He also said that in 2015, 2016 and 2017, the nation’s revenue from oil stood at N1.29 trillion, N1.16 trillion and N1.52.
Fowler said: “We all recall that beginning from the second half of 2014, there has been a sustained decline in the global prices of oil.
Oil revenue generated by FIRS in 2014, N2.45 trillion; Oil Revenue Generated in 2015, N1.29 trillion; FIRS oil revenue generated in 2016 – N1.16 trillion; oil revenue generated in 2017, N1.52 trillion “This trend has had adverse effect on the ability of oil dependent countries to meet their development objectives.
For us in Nigeria, the decline in receipts from oil revenue and the concomitant decline in accruals to states from the Federation Account has placed many states in a financial quandary to the point where basic obligations such as the payment of employee wages has become a perennial challenge.
This is not the first time Nigeria will experience economic slow-down as a result of fluctuations in global oil prices.
“This retreat, and what it hopes to achieve is part of efforts to ensure that we act differently this time around by looking beyond oil as the mainstay of our economy. By putting our hands together in contribution to our set goal, I am confident that we will surpass our past results and we’ll be well on our way to the future we hope to achieve.”
Fowler noted that though collection increased by 20 per cent relative to 2016, the cost of collection went down to 2.49 per cent in 2017 relative to the 2.60 per cent cost of collection in 2016 and 2.62 in 2015.
This, the FIRS chairman noted, attests to the growing efficiency in collection by the service and the use of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT).
Responding, Akiolu, who said he had paid N350 million in taxes for over seven years, called on all eligible taxpayers including the lawmakers in the team to pay their taxes, so as to help government provide infrastructure.
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