COVER
FIRS Generates N4.9trn from Taxes in 2021
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Federal Inland Revenue Service said it generated the sum of N4.9trn between January and November, 2021 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. 23trnThe Service 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, stated 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 FIRS 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.
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.
According to her, this was better than not collecting any revenue whenever there is a tax dispute with evaders.
Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the total value-added tax
(VAT) collected on behalf of the federation decreased by N11.75
billion within three months to N500.49 billion in the third quarter of 2021.
This was contained in its latest report released yesterday.
VAT is a consumption tax that is administered by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
In the last quarter, VAT collection amounted to N512.25 billion.
Year-on-year, there was an improvement in the collection as the FIRS collected N496.39 billion, N512.25 billion and N500.49 billion in the
first, second and third quarters of 2021.
This is higher compared to the corresponding figures of 2020 at N324.58 billion, N327.20 billion and N424.71 billion, respectively.
It shows growth rates of 52.93 percent in Q1 2021, 56.56 percent in Q2 2021 and 17.84 percent in Q3 of 2021.
Further analysis shows that in Q3 2021, the manufacturing activity; information and communication activity; and mining & quarrying activity accounted for the top three largest shares of total revenue
collected sector-wise, representing 30.87 percent (N91.2 billion), 20.05 percent (N59.3 billion), and 9.62 percent (N28.4 billion),
respectively.
On the flip side, activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies generated the least VAT in the quarter under review with N20.15
million. This was followed by activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods and services (N90.83 million) and water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (236.75
million).
Nigeria had raised its VAT rate from 5 percent to 7.5 percent in 2020—but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also advised that the
rate should be increased to at least 10 percent by 2022.
On the other hand, first and second quarter 2021 Company Income Tax (CIT) collections were N392.65 billion and N472.07 billion,
respectively, higher than the corresponding quarter of last year.
By the third quarter of 2021, this has increased to N472.52 billion, yet higher than Q3 of the previou
By David Torough, Abuja
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has revealed plans for a major political coalition involving the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Labour Party (LP) to confront what he described as the ‘incompetent and inefficient’ government of President Bola Tinubu.
Atiku made the announcement, while addressing a delegation of stakeholders from the Kogi East Senatorial Zone, led by former Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Simon Achuba, in Abuja. He said he was deeply concerned over the country’s worsening security crisis, blaming the Tinubu administration for its lack of political will to address the issue.Atiku recounted his experience as Vice President during the early days of the Boko Haram insurgency, highlighting how decisive leadership under his administration had temporarily quelled the threat.He stated, “How can leaders remain indifferent while their citizens are being killed? Such apathy is the height of irresponsibility for any political leader, anywhere.“I hold our current leadership accountable for the widespread insecurity plaguing our nation. There is a lack of political will.“Let me remind you of when Boko Haram first emerged in 2002, during our time in office. The president summoned me and asked, ‘Mr Vice President, what should we do about this?’ It began in Yobe. I advised him to call the service chiefs and set a clear deadline: if they couldn’t quell the insurgency, they should resign.“The president summoned the service chiefs, I was present, and issued firm orders. Within weeks, the insurgents in Yobe were subdued, and the threat did not resurface until after we left office.”Atiku also criticized the government’s under-policing strategy, suggesting that unemployed graduates be recruited into the police force to address the security manpower deficit.“We are under-policed. There are not enough police officers in this country, while many educated individuals remain unemployed. Why not recruit them into the police force?” he asked.He emphasized the need for a united front against the current administration, stating, “We are forming a coalition, all major political parties, including the APC, the PDP, and the Labour Party, are involved. This is the only way forward to confront such an incompetent and inefficient government. I assure you of my understanding and full support.”Simon Achuba, who led the delegation, echoed Atiku’s concerns, lamenting the rampant violence, kidnappings, and destruction of communities in the North.He accused the federal government of failing in its constitutional duty to ensure peace and security, urging northern leaders to step up and foster unity within the region.“Unfortunately, the government is doing little to alleviate this crisis, and it is their responsibility, sir. It is the government’s duty to ensure peace and order in our communities.“Yet, in a situation where the government fails to take adequate action, I believe, we believe, that northern leadership must step up,” Achuba said, calling for internal healing and brotherhood among northerners.
By Eze Okechukwu, Abuja
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has said that Nigeria was long overdue for a national census, adding that the exercise would assist the country in national planning.Akpabio made the remarks while playing host to members and management of the National Population Commission(NPC) who visited him in his office to update him on the preparation for the next Census for the country.
Akpabio told his guests: “I don’t want to call it a national disgrace but can I say it’s a national embarrassment that even Nigerians who go outside to represent us in different fora do not know the number of Nigerians. ”Sometimes you will go to some places and they will say 250 million Nigerians. At another place, they will say you people are over 270 million. Some African countries think we are over 300 million.”If you go to places where they are holding retreat now, they are now shrinking from 250 million to 220 million. I think it’s time to bring that confusion to an end.”Any country that fails to know its population has already started to fail in its planning. You cannot truly plan for the future if you don’t know the number of mouths you want to feed. You do not know the number of children that you want to put in schools. You can’t know the number of classroom blocks you will build.”We must plan. Any country that does not plan for its future has already accepted failure. We will be failing the future generation of Nigerians if we do not begin to plan for the future and start the planning of this Census. This Census is important so that we know how many people we are planning for.”Akpabio assured members of the NPC that the National Assembly would support the Commission to succeed.”It is very important that we support you. The National Assembly will support you to succeed. I have no doubt, with the calibre of men and women that I have seen here, that the task that Mr President has given to you, once the proclamation is done, you will rise to the occasion. And I know that the National Assembly, the Senate in particular, will stand by you all the way,” he said.Earlier, the NPC chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra who led the delegation said the visit was to keep the Senate President abreast of the stage of preparation and seek continued support of the National Assembly for the next Census.”We cannot conduct this Census without your support. So we will continue to count on your support and we want to make Nigerians proud by conducting a very thorough Census that will yield a lot of data that will assist in planning policy formulation and tracking our development,” Kwarra said.
By David Torough, Abuja
Former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido has called on President Bola Tinubu to show courage by closing the chapter of June 12 once and for all.According to him, the payment of the N45 billion debt owed to the family of the late presumed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, would serve as a symbolic and moral closure to the June 12 struggle and Abiola’s unjust treatment following the annulment of the election, widely believed to have been won by the late business mogul.
The former Minister of Foreign Affairs made the call while delivering his closing remarks at the launch of his autobiography, “Being True to Myself,” held yesterday in Abuja.“When (General) Murtala (Muhammed) died, Abiola came in with a claim that he was owed, I think, about N45bn for contracts executed by International Telephone and Telecommunication for the Ministry of Communications. The military high command at that time said no.“He went around the Emirs in the North to lobby, and the Emirs asked that they (the military) should please pay the money. They (the military) said they annulled the June 12 elections because if they made him President, he would take his money, and the country would become bankrupt. Those who were close to Abacha should know this because Abacha was then one of the big shots; they were all aware.”“Before I end my remarks, I want to appeal to President Tinubu to finally close the chapter of June 12. In his book, General Ibrahim Babangida acknowledged that Abiola won the election. When I visited him, he also confirmed that Abiola is owed N45 billion. He was doubly punished: first, denied the presidency; second, denied what is owed to him.”Lamido urged the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammad Idris Malagi, who represented President Tinubu at the event, to deliver the message to the President.“Please tell the President to pay the Abiola family the N45 billion. Once this is done, the June 12 chapter will be closed. It is very important,” he stated.
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