FIRS taxation template, a global model, says group

The Global Economic Policy Initiative (GEPiN), a non-governmental organisation working in the areas of public finance and economy, has said the revenue administration formula being used by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), is a model that should be adopted across the globe.

In 2022, the FIRS announced a total tax revenue collection of N10.1 trillion, which is about 60 percent year-on-year growth from N6.4 trillion which the service collected in 2021 and a 100 percent increase from about N5 trillion it recorded in 2012.

After assessment of the scenario, the GEPiN in a statement by Ben Okri, its country director, said Muhammad Nami’s performance in FIRS is worth understudying by other tax authorities in Africa and beyond.

Okri stated that Nami’s revenue collection template grew Nigeria’s tax revenue status from N6.4 trillion to N10.1 trillion in a single year, saying that such scale of increase is not common in the history of tax administration in any country of the world.

“There are things Nami is doing in FIRS which other tax authorities in Africa and beyond should understudy.

“Such scale of increase, from N6.4 trillion in 2021 to N10.1 trillion in 2022 is not common in the history of tax administration anywhere in the world. If you look at the trend of year-on-year tax revenue growth in Nigeria before Nami’s tenure and what is obtainable in other tax authorities, you would not see such huge scale of year-on-year growth as that which has happened in FIRS last year”, Okri said.

He noted that the reforms Nami has implemented have taken root and are producing the much-desired results; and that this collection did not come as a surprise, given the executive chairman’s “well-curated four-cardinal goals.”

“As huge as the FIRS 2022 tax collection sum is, it did not come to us as a surprise.

“Nami started out his tenure by setting in motion the implementation of his four cardinal goals; which are making FIRS a data-centric organisation, making FIRS a customer-centric organisation, increasing stakeholder collaboration and rebuilding the FIRS institutional framework. What has happened is that those reforms have been entrenched and they are now yielding fruits”, he added.

He noted that stakeholders have commended the deployment of Tax Pro Max, which is a home-grown technology developed by the FIRS and that TaxPro Max has revolutionised the concept of tax revenue generation in Nigeria.

Okri also noted that the FIRS is playing a huge role in running of government, providing over 60% of the monies shared at Federal Accounts and Allocation Committee (FAAC) for the past 1-year plus.

He said that GEPiN notes with admiration, that the FIRS is setting the example for economies across the world in a post covid economy.

“There is so much that countries around the world grappling with revenue generation can learn from the FIRS.

“We encourage the FIRS executive chairman not to relent in his determination to transform taxation in Nigeria. We also commend the FIRS board, management and staff for providing Nami with the much-needed support at this point in time.