The Federal Inland Revenue Service said in Abuja that less than 15 million Nigerians are paying taxes.
The Chairman, Joint Tax Board, Mr. Babatunde Fowler, who stated this, said that a large percentage of Nigerians were defaulting in tax remittances to the Federal Government.
He spoke at the peer leaning event on internally-generated revenue and how to achieve effective tax administration, organised by the World Bank and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
Fowler said from available records, the total number of individual taxpayers across the country was below 15 million, with majority of those in the private sector, including self-employed persons, professionals and high net worth individuals defaulting in payment of relevant taxes.
“It is in order to stem these challenges that prompted the government to propose having access to information on all categories of taxpayers through the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme, where by taxpayers who are in default of tax payment will be required to voluntarily declare their assets and incomes within a time frame.”
The FIRS boss also said that Nigeria would be better off and more jobs created and economic activities promoted if more revenue was made available at the state and federal levels.
He told the gathering, which included commissioners of finance from the 36 states and other tax experts, that the revenue target in the next two or three years “is similar to the target at the national level, which is to fund the national budget with taxes collected, which is currently at 65 per cent of revenue realised from non-oil.”
Also speaking at the event, the Director-General, NGF, Mr. Asishana Okauru, said the forum had resolved to replicate the reforms that led to the 20 per cent growth in the IGR in 23 states of the federation in 2016 in the remaining 13 states that witnessed a contraction in the IGR generation.
Okauru said the NGF would provide technical assistance to the states next year by expanding support in other areas of public financial management.
Source- The PUNCH
