The Federal Inland Revenue Service FIRS says it recorded four million new taxpayers accounting for a ₦700 billion increase in revenue in 2017.
The FIRS boss disclosed this in Abuja at the 13th General Assembly of the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF)
Fowler noted that the past two years, the service has scaled up its use of ICT to enhance taxpayers’ compliance.
In his words
“Our efforts in this regard have made an impact and contributed to an increase in the number of taxpayers by an additional four million, including companies and individuals,”
The government hopes to finance some of its capital projects in the 2018 budgets from non-oil revenue and it has also launched the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme VAIDS which provides a window for multinationals and High Networth Individual to regularise their tax payments. The Scheme which was launched last year will come to an end later this month.
The government has also put in place controls that will stop leakages in government revenue in the country.
The Minister of Finance had recently revealed that the government has saved the sum of ₦288bn in personnel costs through the implementation of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System IPPIS.
The IPPIS is one of the Federal Government’s reform initiatives designed to undertake planning, aids budgeting, monitors monthly payment of staff emoluments against what is provided for in the budget; ensures database integrity