The acting executive chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Alhaji Kabir Mashi, has expressed the Service’s determination to grow the nation`s revenue profile through improved Non-oil tax revenue collection.
Mashi, who gave the assurance at the opening of a 3-day FIRS Annual Corporate Retreat and Enlarge Management Meeting in Abuja, said that the Service would sustain and improved on its records of revenue generation.
“As we have previously said, it is necessary to improve upon non-oil tax collection for a number of reasons, major among which is the increasing global need to reduce the over-dependence on oil revenue.
Taxation becomes an obvious alternative to other revenue sources like Tourism, and is a most desirable option as it can be nurtured and grown with proper planning and execution,’’ he said.
Mashi said steps have been taken to deepen non-oil tax revenue through Capacity Enhancement Programme (CEP) that would improve staffers knowledge acquisition, transfer of skills and “toolkits’’ for tax development.
He said that the ongoing nation-wide Value Added Tax (VAT) and Withholding Tax (WHT) verification exercise was also aimed at enhancing and increasing the non-oil tax revenue collection across the Service.
Mashi commended both chambers of the National Assembly and other stakeholders for their input, consideration and speedy passage of the Service 2014 budget.
He explained: “Contained in the budget as you know is the Government Revenue Target for 2014, N1.789 trillion for Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), N1.030 trillion for Companies Income Tax (CIT) with N96 billion for CIT Gas and N861 billion for VAT.
Expectedly, N10.21 billion from Capital Gains Tax (CGT), N8.46 billion from Stamp Duties, Education Tax, Personal Income Tax, Technology Levy will contribute N156 billion, N59 billion and N10.6 billion respectively with a total government target of N4.21 trillion.’’
The Service annual budgetary target in 2013 was N4.468 trillion, but its total tax revenue collection stood at N4.805 trillion, resulting in N337 billion above the revenue target for the period.
Earlier, the coordinator director, Direct Report Group (DRG), Queensly Seghosime, also gave the assurance that the Service would leverage on various ongoing initiatives to grow non-oil tax revenue and surpass the annual target for 2014.
