The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) recently unveiled a new slogan as multi-pronged reforms approach to improving service delivery. In this write-up, JOSEPH INOKOTONG examines the slogan’s potential to support the agency’s revenue collection drive.

The choice of Dr. Zacch Adedeji, a widely acclaimed tax ace for the position of executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has received commendations from many quarters. It is becoming undoubtedly evident that Dr. Adedeji, who previously played critical roles in the formulation of the economic direction of the current administration, understands the place of friendly and customer-centric tax policies in the collection of taxes in a country like Nigeria.

Prior to his appointment as the chief executive officer of the country’s top tax agency in September 2023, Dr. Adedeji served as Special Adviser to the President on revenue. One of his earliest promises when he resumed duty as the executive Chairman of the FIRS was to strengthen the tax system and rake in more revenue for the government.

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“Essentially, the issue of multiple letters from various units within FIRS over almost the same matter has been taken off the system with the restructuring that we have done. We are now focused on providing the needed service to our customers,” Adedeji said at a public function shortly after he assumed duty.t

However, he Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee in a bid to bolster tax collection in the country proposed, among other recommendations, the setting up of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) to replace the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

The intent as explained by Oyedele is not to scrap the FIRS, but under the arrangement, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and States Inland Revenue Services would become departments under the NRS.

Also, another proposal the Tax Reforms Committee is putting forward is a 5 percent reduction in the country’s company income tax rate to improve the ease of doing business and attract more domestic and foreign direct investments into the country.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele who disclosed this recently at a public consultation and stakeholder engagements in Abuja stated that his Committee had considered the need to incentivise more companies to operate in the country, create jobs and stimulate economic activities as part of the comprehensive reforms proposed to transform the fiscal space, tax landscape and business environment.

Oyedele said, “Nigeria’s current Company Income Tax rate is 30 percent, and the plan is to reduce it by 5 percent to incentivise companies to operate here. This will lead to significant investments in new projects, expansion of operations and unlock economic opportunities.”

Also, he highlighted that the Committee seeks to reduce the number of taxes in the country to a single digit through its proposed reforms. “Currently, Nigeria has about 60 different taxes and levies officially approved and over 200 unofficial levies across the country, which has increased business costs and adversely impacted the economy. The focus is to streamline them into a single digit, improving compliance and ease of tax payment,» he said.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report states that the company income tax total collections into the federation’s account increased to N1.8 trillion for the full year 2023.

In another more to shore up government’s revenue, Mr. Oyedele explained that under the Nigeria Revenue Service, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting can be programmed to function, and the accounts of all the States in the country credited with their allocations on a weekly basis without them physically converging in Abuja monthly to share the allocations. He said, «We can configure the system to credit the accounts of States on a weekly basis. FAAC will only meet to discuss other Fiscal issues and other matters of interest.»

On cost of collection, Oyedele said, «We are targeting 1% here. It ranges from 4% – 35% at present. Agencies should not collect taxes; they don›t have the competence. For example, the FIRS collected N700 billion last year for TetFund.» He pointed out that the Committee›s pillars are Fiscal Governance, Revenue Transformation, and economic growth facilitation, stressing that the committee›s work is expected to receive approvals for the proposed draft National Fiscal Policy from the National Assembly, and the amendments eventually signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.

Interestingly, the FIRS has a seamless operational structure, including the modernisation and digitisation of the tax administration landscape, as an ambitious desire of the Service under Dr. Adedeji to quickly raise Nigeria’s revenue base to support the Federal Government’s funding of critical infrastructure.

In the same vein, industry experts are of the view that such a tailored approach as being espoused by Dr. Adedeji and his team, will ensure that taxpayers are guided and serviced according to their specific needs, thereby eliminating confusion and redundancy in tax administration.

As directed by President Bola Tinubu, the FIRS has set for itself a N19 trillion tax revenue target for the 2024 fiscal year, the highest ever in the country. And Dr. Adedeji, recently announced that the service achieved a significant milestone with the generation of N3.94 trillion in tax revenue during the first quarter (Q1) of the year. Although the revenue falls short of its quarterly target of N4.8 trillion, the Service is not relenting in the implementation of appropriate reforms to actualizing and surpassing its target.

It is under this context that the further launch of a new slogan, “simplifying tax, maximizing revenue” by the FIRS, aligns with its strategic direction of emphasising the agency’s commitment to improving taxpayer services and building trust.

What is interesting also is that the slogan reflects the agency’s mission to make tax administration more efficient and transparent, as indicated in the Q1 revenue output. The new slogan was chosen from a competition among FIRS staff, with the winning entry from Mohammed Gidado, a staff member from Bauchi State.

Noticeable features of change in the new slogan, compared to the previous one, “It Pays to Pay Your Tax” include a shift in focus from the benefits of paying taxes to the agency’s mission of simplifying tax procedures and maximizing revenue.

Another remarkable element is the emphasis by FIRS on its renewed commitment to making tax processes easier for taxpayers as well as the broader theme of rebranding effort to improve the tax agency’s image and services.

Tax experts are enthusiastic to see how this will pan out, notwithstanding their excitement in the reform that produced the new slogan that captures the “why”, “how”, and “what” as contained in FIRS’s mission and vision statement, which will, undoubtedly serve as a powerful communication tool for both the internal and external public.

As it has ensured enhanced taxpayers’ satisfaction, streamlining processes, building trust, and benchmarking against best global practices, the top tax agency urgently needs the buy-in of stakeholders at all levels to deliver in this arduous responsibility.

The FIRS, from all indicators, remains on track to making more monies available to government through tax collection.

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