The administration of President Bola Tinubu wants to implement a new tax plan, the kind he did in Lagos State that raised the state’s internally generated revenue.
He plans to do this through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The agency will jettison the old ways of tax collection for a more robust and encompassing system.
Will this work on a federal scale?
President Bola Tinubu
This new system is expected to lead to voluntary compliance and generate ₦19 trillion, the FIRS said.
Indeed, if this feat is achieved as planned, borrowing under this administration should be minimal.
Basically, this tax strategy was disclosed by the FIRS Executive Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, on Wednesday in Abuja. He spoke at the agency’s 2024 strategic management retreat.
According to him, the target was achievable with the series of reforms being implemented by the service.
This ₦19 trillion target is a significant increase of 56.91% from the ₦12.37 trillion generated in 2023.
Basically, the target is also 67.91% higher than the previous year’s target of ₦11.56 trillion.
Adedeji said: “The real strategy is to drive voluntary compliance with consequences for non-compliance”.
“We want to use the new structure to drive voluntary compliance because the focus cannot be on litigation and investigation.
“Those will be for, say 10% of all our strategies.
Also, he explained that the new organisational structure will kick off in February 2024.
FIRS Goes Digital To Meet Taxpayers Needs
According to him, it is a critical milestone in revolutionising tax administration in the country in a modernised and digitised manner.
The new FIRS would be driven by a technology-based, customer-centric organisational structure designed to streamline processes and enhance efficiency in tax operations.
Also, this structure will ensure that the evolving needs of taxpayers are met when due.
Furthermore, he revealed that “The structure advocates for a comprehensive approach to taxpayer services, consolidating our core functions and support under one umbrella.
