We’ll meet $12.2bln target by end of 2024

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The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji has said the Service will meet the N19.4 trillion target it set for itself by the end of the year.

Adedeji gave the assurance on Saturday, at the 2024 stakeholders’ engagement with the Senate and House Committees on Finance, tagged: ‘Repositioning the FIRS to Achieve Its Mandate’, in Lagos.

According to the FIRS’ boss, the figures the Service had been able to garner in the past eight months, put it in pole position to deliver on the target given it set for itself at the beginning of the year.

“From every indication, we are equal to the task. We are on course. We are still in the eight month, August. And with the figures I’m seeing, hitting that target given to us by the federal government is achievable by the end of the year,” he stated

He also disclosed that the law, meant to overhaul revenue administration in Nigeria, including regulation of the cryptocurrency industry, is being put together for transmission to the National Assembly, and would be ready soon.

The aim of the bill is to, among others, simplify tax laws, harmonise collection of revenue as well as seek the replacement of obsolete tax laws with new ones in line with the current economic realities.

“Part of what we intend to achieve with this is to harmonise revenue collection, make tax laws very simple to understand and to be in tune with our current realities.

“For example, the Stamp Duty Act was made in 1939 when there was no Internet connectivity or any of the features of modern society as we have it now. Even in 1939, states and local government councils had not been created.

“So, we need to bring that law up to date. This is one of the reasons President Bola Tinubu set up the Taiwo Oyedele-led Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Committee to look into all these laws and make recommendations,” he said.

Adedeji insisted cryptocurrency had gained prominence all over the world, and Nigeria would, therefore, not shy away from being part of the global business.

“Today, we cannot run away from the cryptocurrency ecosystem because it is the in-thing. But as it stands in Nigeria today, there is no law that regulates cryptocurrency operations. We need a law that regulates that area of our economy. This is why we are having this engagement with the legislators. We will regulate it in a way that is not injurious to the economic development of Nigeria.

“These are some of the things we are bringing together in an Executive Bill to overhaul revenue administration for the development of the country,” he added

The FIRS boss attributed the feats the Service had been able to record in the past few months to the support it had been getting from both the executive and the legislative arms of government.

He explained that the stakeholders’ engagement with the Senate and House Committees on Finance was to further strengthen that bond, by updating them with the activities of the Service, its challenges, and call for more support.

In his remarks, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa stated that the Service should be the regulating and collecting agency for all taxes for the federation, noting that the National Single Window programme will address the inefficiency in revenue collection in the country.

He assured the service of the lawmakers’ support, describing the engagement as another opportunity for the lawmakers to listen, learn and contribute on how best to support the FIRS to achieve its target.

“It is also an opportunity for FIRS to share its challenges, successes and strategies for the future. By working together, we can ensure that FIRS is fully equipped to maximise not only collection but also provide the needed resources for national development and public welfare,” Musa said.

His counterpart in the House of Representatives, Hon James Faleke, who was represented by Hon Kalejaiye Paul, commended the Adedeji’s leadership at FIRS, for the professionalism usually exhibited by the service, while carrying out its duties.

Faleke however charged Nigerians on the need to be alive to their civic responsibilities by paying their taxes regularly; since that is the only way to enable the government fulfil it’s promises to the people.