The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Thursday said non-oil tax receipts have been contributing about 75 to 90 per cent of total tax revenue in recent months.
Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Muhammad Nami, disclosing this during a courtesy call on the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, by the members of the FIRS Board, according to a statement signed by the Director, Communications and Liaison Department, Abdullahi Ahmad.
Nami noted that the FIRS has continued to record significant increase in collectable tax revenue from the non-oil sector, despite the national and global economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Out of N490 billion collected by the FIRS in July, only N52 billion was from the oil sector, with the rest coming in through non-oil receipts, Nami said.
He attributed the increase in the non-oil sector receipt to reform measures introduced by the FIRS Board and management as well as what he described as ‘renewed vigour in the service workforce’.
Nami, in the same vein, commended the minister for her support to the service and its Board since their inauguration earlier in the year, and called for a closer working relationship between the FIRS and the ministry.
The minister, Ahmed, commended the management and Board of the FIRS for implementing proactive reforms which limited the disruptive impact of COVID-19 on government revenue.
The performance of the FIRS had made it possible for the three tiers of government to receive their monthly statutory allocations from the Federation Account, Ahmed observed.
She specifically noted that Value Added Tax (VAT) and Stamp Duties receipts have boosted government revenue in spite the pandemic.
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