Chairman Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Zacch Adedeji has allayed fears of Nigerians over possible introduction of new taxes through proposed tax reform laws.
Adedeji made the clarification Tuesday during an interactive session with members of the Senate Committee on Finance in Abuja.
He specifically assured Nigerians that the tax reform laws would not entail introduction of new taxes or increase of the already existing ones.
“Tax reform will not introduce any taxes or increase the percentage of existing ones but reduce the number of taxes being paid by Nigerians.
“No agency will be merged in the process of carrying out the reform and no job will be taken from anybody. The Tax reform basically seeks to increase simplicity and efficiency of tax administration in Nigeria,” he said.
Adedeji further assured Nigerians that the existing tax policies introduced by the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration were not meant “to tax poverty but prosperity, fruits and not seeds, returns and not investments.”
On the Executive bills already forwarded to both chambers of the National Assembly to legalise the reforms, the FIRS boss said “the four bills which are (i) Nigeria Tax Bill, (ii) Nigeria Tax Administration Act (amendment) Bill, (iii) Nigeria Revenue Service Bill and (iv) Joint Revenue Board (establishment) Bill, when passed into law, would among others; help to harmonise the multiple tax laws in the country.
“Drive efficiency and modernization, simplify tax laws and ensure synergy among agencies involved, increase efficiency and effectiveness in government savings, promote transparency and integrity in revenue collection, align with international standards, broaden Nigeria’s tax base etc.”
When asked to explain why FIRS, as contained in one of the bills, would be changed to Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), the Chief Tax Collector said “the present name of the agency does not cover the scope of its services, like the Value Added Tax ( VAT), 85% of which,” according to him, were remitted to states while the federal government gets the remaining 15%.
…Senate commendation
In his remarks, the committee chairman, Senator Sani Musa (APC Niger East), said the interactive session was called so the FIRS boss could update members on what and what the tax reform bills were targeted at achieving.
“Tax reforms lie at the heart of the government agenda and require constructive inputs from all stakeholders,” he said.
He commended the FIRS boss for meeting up with revenue targets set in the fiscal year but also urged him to go beyond the target.
Many members of the committee like Senators Seriake Dickson (PDP Bayelsa West), Osita Izunaso (APC Imo West), and Ahmed Wadada (SDP Nasarawa West), also commended the FIRS boss on increased revenue generation by the agency, particularly from non-oil revenue .