The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) announced on Monday that it collected over N10 trillion in tax revenue in 2022, the highest tax collection ever recorded in its history.
The Service made this known in its “FIRS 2022 Performance Update” report signed by its Executive Chairman, Mr. Muhammad Nami, and released to the public after his briefing with President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to the report, the FIRS collected a total of N10.1 trillion in both oil (N4.09 trillion) and non-oil (N5.96 trillion) revenues as against a target of N10.44 trillion. Companies Income Tax contributed N2.83 trillion; Value Added Tax N2.51 trillion; Electronic Money Transfer Levy N125.67 billion and Earmarked Taxes N353.69 billion. Non-oil taxes contributed 59% of the total collection in the year, while oil tax collection stood at 41% of total collection.
The Performance Update Report further clarified that included in the total revenue sum is the sum of N146.27 billion which is the total value of certificates issued by the Service to private investors and NNPC for road infrastructure under the Road Infrastructure Development Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme created by Executive Order No. 007 of 2019.
The FIRS noted in the Performance Update that the Muhammad Nami-led management upon assumption of office came up with a four-point focus, namely: administrative and operational restructuring; making the service customer-focused; creating a data-centric institution; and automation of administrative and operational processes. Over the period of 2020 to 2022, the management had introduced reforms bordering around these four-point focus which were producing results.
It further noted that as a result of conducive environment created for staff, officers of the Service are pulling their weight on the global stage with international recognitions and awards;
“The Service had also automated most of the administrative and operational processes. A major leap was the full deployment of the TaxPro Max for end-to-end administration of taxes in June 2021. The module for the automated TCC went live 1st January 2023 while taxpayers had already downloaded over 1,000 TCCs this year without having to visit FIRS office,” the report read.
It also noted that the Service had operationalized its data mining and analysis system thereby allowing for data-backed taxpayer profiling.
Mr. Muhammad Nami, Executive Chairman of the FIRS, commenting on the N10.1 trillion record tax collection achieved under his leadership stated that this was made possible through “dogged implementation of strategic reforms over the past two years; a renewed commitment by officers of the Service, accompanied with a boosted morale; as well as the innovative deployment of technology for automation of both tax administration and operational processes.
“This collection was possible through collaboration with our stakeholders, from the private sector to government agencies, and the general public. We will continue to work together to ensure that we meet and exceed our revenue targets,” Mr. Nami said.
