The Federal Inland Revenue Service has recorded an all-time high tax revenue collection of N5.23 trillion in 2018, with Value Added Tax (VAT) at N1.11 trillion for the first time.
Prior to 2018, the highest revenue figure ever attained by FIRS was N5.07 trillion, in 2012, when oil price hovered around $100-$120 per barrel, but now remarkable, given that it was achieved at a period when oil prices averaged $70 per barrel.
Besides, the Service will be expanding its dragnet and tightening noose against tax evaders, as there are indications that it would be given an N8trillion target this year.
The Chairman of FIRS, Dr. Babatunde Fowler, who made the disclosure during the 2019 Management and Stakeholders Retreat, in Lagos, yesterday, said the N8 trillion target is being finalised, but assured of the readiness of the agency to take it as a challenge.
Fowler, who reiterated the need for increased compliance to tax laws, said there would not be any serious discussion on diversification of the economy without reviewing the country’s tax regime for optimal performance. Read more