The Federal Government has urged tax practitioners to work harder in getting more revenue from taxes. It said this while stressing that tax revenue is currently the highest income source for the federation.
The government disclosed this on Tuesday through the Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, at the 26th Annual Tax Conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria in Abuja, with the theme: Sustainable Tax Culture and Economic Roadmap for Nation Building.
It also pointed out that based on the current high revenue from taxes, members of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee were always looking forward to the figures from the Federal Inland Revenue Service every month, in order to have funds to share to the three tiers of government.
Madein said, “Like the CITN, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation is committed to a sustainable tax culture that will ensure the continuous flow of revenues even at an improved level.
“Tax revenue as at today is the highest source of revenue accruing to the federation. Therefore at the Federation Account Allocation Committee meetings we eagerly await the numbers coming from the FIRS because the performance keeps on increasing and brings succour to all tiers of government.”
FIRS exceeded its 2023 revenue target by N816bn, as its total actual revenue collection for last year stood at N12.37tn, outperforming the N11.56tn target.
This is contained in a presentation by Amina Ado, Coordinating Director of Special Tax Operations Group at the FIRS.
At the CITN conference on Tuesday, the accountant-general tasked tax practitioners to step up efforts in collecting taxes, so as to shore up more revenue for the government to provide infrastructure and other amenities.
Madein said, “Let us remain steadfast in our commitment to building a better future for all. Together we can harness the transformative power of taxation to create a more prosperous, equitable and sustainable world.
“Like I said earlier, at FAAC we eagerly look forward to tax numbers because at the moment revenue from non-oil has been a great revenue source to the federation.
“Therefore, to tax practitioners, you are doing so well, but we need more of this to be able to deliver on all the areas that the citizens are looking forward to, because for even infrastructure development, it is only through funds that we can get it done.”
