The Acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Babatunde Fowler, has pledged to evolve a tax system that would make more people and organisations pay taxes as a way of generating enough revenue to fund government commitments.
Fowler, who spoke Tuesday when he took over from the Acting Executive Chairman of FIRS, Sunday Ogungbesan, in Abuja, said he would take the organisation to a new height.
Fowler, according to a statement by FIRS Assistant Director, Communications and Servicom Department, Nneka Ifekwuna, said the new change of leadership at FIRS was predicated on the resolve of the presidency to ensure maximum increase in tax revenue as the era of absolute dependency on oil proceeds was over.
He said the FIRS must take the lead in the tax revenue collection and must be ready to share information and ideas with the State Boards of Internal Revenue (SBIRs) in order to take tax administration in the country to another level.
“My vision and mission is neither to alter the existing management organogram structure in FIRS nor lay-off management staff from their duty posts, but to take FIRS, as well as the nation’s tax system to an enviable height.
“This we cannot achieve all alone without a robust partnership and collaboration of all stakeholders within and outside the system. We must build a synergy for a healthy exchange of information between FIRS and SBIR.
“This synergy will produce the best form of revenue generation in the FIRS and the states in general, as well as ensuring that over-dependency on oil revenue becomes a thing of the past,” Fowler said.
According to him, the antidote to the economic mire is for FIRS to raise revenue accruing from tax collection to “records high” so that government’s programme would be well-funded.
Earlier, Ogungbesan, who had called on the FIRS staff to cooperate with Fowler, said that “The chairman needs the support of all staff to succeed in the business of raising revenue and we must not lose sight to satisfy the government.”
He said that of about 450,000 taxable corporate entities, only about 125,000 are currently paying taxes.
He added that the agency generated N1.97 trillion in revenue in the first half of this year, representing 98 percent of the targeted revenue of N2.28 trillion between January and June 2015.
Part of Fowler’s agenda at FIRS is to capture more taxpayers in the tax net and increase the 1,189,722 corporate and individual taxpayers to a higher number.
Besides, the current management of FIRS under Fowler is expected to focus on improving structures, strengthening processes and automating core functions that support tax revenue collection.
“FIRS has great potential and prospects for meeting tax revenue target and bridging gap in government revenue from fall in oil prices.
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