The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, is proposing a total revenue collection of 5.900 trillion naira during the 2021 financial year.
Executive Chairman of the Service, Muhammad Nami, made this known when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance.
Nami explained that this is against budgeted 5.076 trillion naira in 2020 representing about a 16.22 per cent increase above the corresponding year’s budget.
He further stated that out of the proposed total collection of 5.900 trillion naira, non-oil and oil components are expected to contribute 4.26 trillion naira and 1.64 trillion naira respectively.
He added that the cost of collection is projected at over 289.25 billion naira against the budgeted 180.76 billion naira in 2020 to fund the three operational expenditure heads for the year.
Nami also stated that out of the proposed expenditure of 289.25 billion naira across the three expenditure heads, the sum of 147.08 billion and N94.97 billion naira is to be expended on Personnel and Overhead Costs against the 2020 budgeted sum of 97.36 billion naira and 43.64 billion respectively.
He further disclosed that the sum of 47.19 billion naira is estimated to be expended on capital items against the budgeted sum of 27.80 billion naira in 2020 adding the sum is to cater for on-going and new projects for effective revenue drive.
The FIRS boss noted that the budget is predicated on the assumptions that there will be a marginal reduction in the taxable income of tax payers due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the exemption of some categories of tax payers from payment of tax as enshrined in the 2019 and 2020 Finance Act which will impact on Revenue collection.
Nami disclosed that the service seeks to continuously improve its technology for automated tax collection across all sectors of the economy through electronic filing, electronic registration, electronic payment among others to facilitate the ease of doing business with taxpayers.
He also cited the introduction of measures to increase tax audit and enforcement activities nationwide, intensification of taxpayers education and engagement with a view to improving compliance with tax laws, increased capacity of staff through structured training and payment of staff entitlements as at when due as some of the measures to be put in place to achieve set target during the financial year.
The Committee Chairman, James Fake, who expressed satisfaction with the FIRS performance last year despite the devastating effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, cautioned his colleagues pushing for employment opportunities for their constituents against piling up more overhead expenditure on the FIRS.
The lawmakers also promised to assist the FIRS with legislative interventions to aid its service delivery to the country.
